Models of smoking behavior change include addiction, social, and behavioral concepts. The purpose of this study was to explore the prevalence of two biologic factors, olfactory and gustatory responses to tobacco smoke, as potentially powerful contributors to smoking behavior change among pregnant women. Data were obtained from 209 pregnant smokers. The majority of women reported olfactory (62%) and gustatory (53%) aversions to tobacco. Aversions first appeared during the first trimester of pregnancy. Women who experienced olfactory aversions were more likely also to experience gustatory aversions. Olfactory aversions were associated with women smoking less. Aversions to tobacco smoke are common among pregnant smokers, are associated with women smoking less, and could help explain pregnant women's smoking patterns. Keywords tobacco; pregnancy; olfactory aversion; gustatory aversion Cigarette smoking is a major preventable cause of cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, reproductive dysfunction, and decreased bone density in women (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2005
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript of respiratory problems, including asthma (Barber, Mussin, & Taylor, 1996;Pollack, 2001). A substantial number of women change their smoking behavior while pregnant (Mathews & Rivera, 2004), but the majority return to their usual smoking patterns after giving birth (Kahn, Certain, & Whitaker, 2002;McBride et al., 1999). If women maintained their smoking abstinence after giving birth, many tobacco-related health problems for women and children could be prevented (Fagerstrom, 2002;Fiore et al., 2004). If smoking cessation during pregnancy became permanent for women, we would be closer to achieving the Healthy People 2010 target of reducing smoking among adults to 12% (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000). The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of pregnant women's sensory aversions to tobacco smoke. Currently, there are only anecdotal reports of pregnant women's tobacco aversions. If sensory aversions are widespread, they would be biologic factors that have the potential to provide a clearer explanation of the reasons women reduce smoking during pregnancy and resume postpartum.The median smoking rate for women in the United States in 2004 was 19.2% with reported rates ranging from 9.4% to 26.4% (Kuiper, Malarcher, Bombard, Maurice, & Jackson, 2005). Estimates of the percentage of women who smoke during pregnancy range from 10.5%to 17.1% (CDC, 2005). Although pregnancy is an opportune time for smoking cessation (McBride, Emmons, & Lipkus, 2003), nearly 70% of women in the United States who stop smoking during pregnancy resume by 12 months postpartum (DiClemente, DolanMullen, & Windsor, 2000;Kahn et al., 2002;McBride et al., 1999). Despite the substantial amount of research on smoking behavior of pregnant and postpartum women, the high postpartum smoking resumption rates reveal our inadequate understanding ...