Mums-to-be ‘paid’ to stop smoking

A maximum of £12.50 a week (which adds up to a whopping £525 over 42 weeks), has been offered to pregnant women to buy groceries and baby goods as part of the Give It Up For Baby NHS Scotland trial.

Mums-to-be were tested at their local pharmacy to confirm they had stayed smoke-free, and nicotine replacement therapy and social support were also offered.

Some 135 women in Angus, 125 in Perth and Kinross and 164 in Dundee signed up for the scheme with 18% staying smoke-free three months after giving birth.

Dundee NHS Tayside consultant official Andrew Radley said the project had been so successful, members of the Scottish Parliament are looking into rolling it out over the rest of Scotland. 

Smoking while pregnant can cause low birth weights and premature deliveries as well as being linked to asthma and obesity.