[Cherie]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...-quit-smoking/

Pregnant women are to be offered up to £400 of shopping vouchers to quit smoking, under new rules for the NHS.

Health Chiefs said the measure was proved to be "both effective and cost effective".

The scheme will be policed using biochemical tests to check whether participants have quit.

However, under the new guidance from The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the vouchers should be given out anyway when testing is too difficult due to the impact of Covid-19.

The scheme has already been tried in some areas, but its adoption by Nice obliges NHS services to consider offering it across the board.

The Royal College of Midwives has previously questioned schemes to incentivise behaviour change through monetary reward.

The guidance, which kicks in when women are referred to an NHS Stop Smoking Service or those run by bodies such as councils, public health teams and charities, said: "Evidence from the UK showed that schemes in which a maximum of around £400 could be gained in vouchers staggered over time (with reductions for each relapse made) were effective and cost effective."


It has been proven in Clinical Trials to improve the health of the baby and saves NHS money in the long run as less babies end up in the special care baby unit