HCFO Findings Brief: Reducing Prenatal Smoking: The Role of State Policies

July 2012

Despite the evidence linking smoking with poor birth outcomes and long term negative health effects for both mothers and children, pregnant women continue to smoke.  One goal of the federally-supported Healthy People 2020 is to reduce the prevalence of cigarette smoking during pregnancy to 1 percent. While most states have instituted more restrictive smoking policies during the past several years, the challenge for policymakers is to identify the right mix of strategies to achieve significant and lasting results. In an HCFO-funded study, E. Kathleen Adams and colleagues at Emory University examined the role that state policies have played in reducing prenatal smoking. The researchers focused their analysis on three policies: cigarette taxes and prices, indoor smoking bans, and state spending on tobacco control.