Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy: A review of the Challenge

In March 2012 the then Public Health Minister set a challenge to the public health community to identify how progress could be made to further reduce the number of women who smoke during pregnancy. The Challenge Group was therefore established. It is a collaboration of charities, academia and Royal Colleges who pooled their expertise to publish a report in 2013: Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy: A call to action.

This short paper reviews progress against each recommendation and identifies priority areas for future action. It has been developed by Challenge Group members and through the feedback of a range of professionals and academics working in the field. An online survey was conducted in May and June 2015 and further feedback was gathered through a Challenge Group event on 21st May 2015 attended by around 100 professionals.