Nicotine patches for pregnant women would help protect mothers and babies – Byrne

“Nicotine patches for pregnant women would help protect mothers and their babies from smoking related harm. We must examine the possibility of making the nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) freely available to pregnant women,” says Catherine Byrne, Fine Gael Dublin South Central TD.

“I have been raising this matter for the last 18 months, suggesting we examine the possibility of providing free low dose nicotine patches to pregnant women, under GP supervision. This already happens in the UK where they are freely available to pregnant women on the NHS.

“I was grateful to get a costing on my proposed measure last summer from the then Health Minister, James Reilly. I am now asking Minister Varadkar to re-visit this matter, particularly in light of the publication of the ‘Growing up in Ireland’ study today, showing that one in 10 women continue to smoke through to full term. While it may be preferable for expectant mothers to try other routes to quitting smoking, I believe the provision of NRT would be a good investment in the health of babies and their mothers as an alternative to women smoking right through their pregnancies.

“I am now asking Minister Varadkar and the officials in his Department to examine the possibility of providing nicotine patches to pregnant women. As well as protecting the health of women and babies, I also believe that such a measure would actually save our health service money in the long run. It would help to alleviate the financial burden on the HSE caused by smoking during pregnancy, by reducing the instance of smoking related health complications for both mothers and babies.”