Community Board Podcast

Disadvantaged status drives higher smoking among Indigenous pregnant women in Australia, New Zealand, the USA & Canada. Indigenous women across four high income countries are not getting the help they need to stop smoking when pregnant. A study published today in the international journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research found common large disparities between indigenous pregnant women’s smoking rates and non-Indigenous pregnant women in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America. “Tobacco smoking is the most significant reversible risk factor for the health of Indigenous pregnant women and their babies.” Said study lead Associate Professor Gillian Gould of the School of Medicine and Public Health at The University of Newcastle, Australia who led the study. “In each of our countries and in Canada, Indigenous pregnant women have smoking rates that are twice to many times higher than the non-Indigenous women.” The prevalence of smoking while pregnant varied across states and countries, rang