NIDA Notes Articles

Vouchers Improve Mothers’ Smoking Abstinence and Newborns’ Weight

April 2012

Pregnant women who received financial incentives to refrain from smoking during late pregnancy were more successful at remaining abstinent and less likely to have babies with low birth weight, according to data from three trials.

Research Focuses on Groups With High Smoking Rates

April 2012
Dr. Volkow discusses NIDA’s efforts to develop effective antismoking treatments for populations with persistently high rates of smoking, such as people with psychiatric disorders, high school dropouts, and Native Americans.

Home Visits by Nurses to Low-Income First-Time Mothers Yield Enduring Benefits

April 2012
A program involving home visits by nurses to low-income first-time mothers, starting during pregnancy and extending into the second year of their children’s lives, has a positive and long-lasting impact on families. Children who participated in the program were less likely than others to report having used alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana at age 12.

Desire to Smoke Subsides, But Cigarette Cues Retain Power

April 2012

During early abstinence, smokers’ cravings triggered by cigarette cues intensified over time, providing evidence that people can experience a phenomenon previously observed in experiments with animals