New data from the NHS paints a concerning picture of smoking rates among pregnant women in the UK, highlighting the challenges they face in quitting. With data revealing that almost three quarters (73%) of pregnant women who attempt to quit smoking using local stop-smoking services in Leeds don’t succeed, showing how a significant number continue to smoke despite known health risks.

The online data, view England quit smoking rates here, displays the smoking cessation rates throughout England by local authority, as well as highlighting the success rates for quitting smoking while pregnant.

Some areas of the UK displayed particularly low success rates for pregnant women attempting to quit smoking. In the North West, just 37% of pregnant women successfully quit after setting a quit date. In comparison, London boasted much better outcomes, with 65% of pregnant women successfully quitting after setting a quit date.

Below are the success rates for each region in England for pregnant women attempting to quit smoking:

North West - 37%
North East - 40%
East Midlands - 42%
South West - 47%
West Midlands 48%
South East - 49%
East of England - 51%
Yorkshire and The Humber - 57%
London - 65%

Looking more specifically at towns and cities, Leeds was the area with the lowest success rate for pregnant women giving up smoking using local stop smoking services, with just 27% ditching cigarettes during pregnancy. On the other hand, Luton currently has the highest success rate with 87% of pregnant women who set a quit date successfully quitting.

Commenting on the data, Markus Lindblad, Head of External Affairs at Haypp, said: “ Quitting smoking is one of the best things pregnant women can do for themselves and their baby. Quitting smoking can reduce a number of risks surrounding pregnancy and birth. However, as we know, quitting smoking can be a difficult challenge for many, even when motivated by pregnancy.

“We can see from these low success rates across the country that more needs to be done to support pregnant women who want to quit smoking. Seeing figures as low as 27% for a successful quit rate for pregnant women is concerning. There are very good support programmes and incentives available, as well as free nicotine replacement therapy. We strongly encourage pregnant women to seek medical advice and check your local council website to see what resources are available in your area.”

73% of Leed’s pregnant smokers don’t quit with local stop-smoking services