The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Fewer Mums smoking

28/06/2005

Fewer Scottish mums and mums-to-be are smoking, according to official statistics released today.

The figures for Births and Maternal Smoking in Scotland show that the number of pregnant women smoking at three months has fallen from 26.1 per cent in 2003 to 23.8 per cent in 2004.

There has also been a slight decrease in the number of women smoking at their health visitor's first visit.

Health Minister Andy Kerr:

"This is excellent news. Recently we've been seeing encouraging signs that the health messages on smoking are starting to get through and today's figures illustrate that.

"We know that smoking causes a number of fatal diseases including lung cancer, we must not lose sight of the fact that smoking while pregnant can seriously affect the health of an unborn child.

"We all want to give our children the best start in life and not smoking is probably one of the best things that we can do, not just for ourselves, but also our children.

"Babies born to smokers are on average eight ounces lighter than babies born to non-smokers and low birth weight is associated with higher risks of death and disease in early childhood.

"However, giving up smoking in the first three months of pregnancy will dramatically reduce the risk of low birth weight.

"Similarly, with 17,000 children under the age of 5 admitted to hospital each year in the UK due to breathing in other people's smoke, it's great to see more mums are getting the message - particularly in more deprived areas.

"We are providing considerable investment to help smokers quit and together with NHS Health Scotland are undertaking a programme of education and prevention.

"Thursday sees the final debate of the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill at the Scottish Parliament.

"The passing of this Bill will see an end to smoking in enclosed public places in Scotland saving thousands of lives every year.

"This is the most important piece of public health legislation in a decade and will help us reverse Scotland's poor health record."

Findings include:

Maternal Smoking - At 1st Antenatal Booking (usually within 3 months of pregnancy):

• In Scotland, there has been a decrease in the maternal smoking rate from 26.1 per cent in 2003 to 23.8 per cent in 2004.
• Longer term trends show a decrease from 29.0 per cent in 1995 to 23.8 per cent in 2004.
• In 2004, the smoking rate in most deprived areas was 38.9 per cent compared to 8.6 per cent in least deprived areas.
• The long term trends show a decrease in smoking rates in both deprived areas (i.e. 42.4 per cent in 1995 to 38.9 per cent in 2004), and in the least deprived areas (i.e. 14.4 per cent in 1995 to 8.6 per cent in 2004).

Maternal Smoking - At Health Visitors first visit (usually around 10 days after birth):

• In the 10 participating health boards, there has been a decrease in the maternal smoking rate from 25.3 per cent in 2003 to 24.6 per cent in 2004.
• Longer term trends show a decrease from 28.6 per cent in 2000 to 24.6 per cent in 2004.
• Trends from 2000 show that smoking rates have decreased in the most deprived areas (i.e. 48.1 per cent in 2000 to 40.9 per cent in 2004) and in the least deprived areas (i.e. 9.7 per cent in 2000 to 6.3 per cent in 2004).

The Executive has a target to reduce the proportion of women who smoke during pregnancy from 29 per cent to 23 per cent between 1995 and 2005 and to 20 per cent by 2010.

The statistics also cover information on births in Scottish hospitals including:

• There were 51,803 live births recorded in Scottish hospitals in the year ending 31 March 2004, an increase of 1,044 (2.1 per cent) from year ending March 2003. Please note that this figure is provisional and is expected to increase slightly as outstanding births are registered onto the system.
• Between 1976 and 2003 there has been an increase in the percentage of births to mothers aged 30-34 (from 13.5 per cent to 30.4 per cent) and 35 and over (from 6.0 per cent to 18.8 per cent).
• Over the same period there has been a decrease in the percentage of births to mother aged 20-24 (33.5 per cent to 18.4 per cent) and 25-29 (34.9 per cent to 24.5 per cent).