Posted on October 23, 2001 at 9:25 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A new program under way at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) aims to reduce the rate of smoking, especially among women of childbearing age. The Alabama Tobacco Free Families program, directed by the department of family medicine at UAB, is supported by a four-year $4.4 million grant from the National Cancer Institute.

The program, which focuses on increasing the public’s knowledge and awareness about tobacco use and the risks it poses to mother, fetus and infant, includes a multi-media campaign with a hard-hitting message — women who smoke while pregnant have sick babies. “The campaign, which began the end of August, has been very successful,” says Myra Crawford, Ph.D., research associate professor and director of the division of family medicine research at UAB. “So far, we have received almost 2,000 calls from interested women and their partners.”

“Our prior studies have targeted pregnant women who smoke,” says Crawford. “This study is aimed at reaching women before they become pregnant and encouraging those who don’t smoke to remain non-smokers and encouraging those who do smoke to stop.”

The program is being conducted in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Public Health in eight Alabama counties — Jefferson, Calhoun, Covington, Cullman, Houston, Lee, St. Clair and Walker. “By reducing the number of pregnant women who smoke, we can reduce the number of low birth weight babies born to women in these counties,” says Crawford. “Alabama has one of the highest low birth weight rates in the nation.”

The program also targets male partners of women who smoke. “Because studies have shown that 80 percent of pregnant women who smoke live with at least one other smoker, the program also encourages partners and other family members to help create a home environment that supports a tobacco-free lifestyle,” says Crawford.

For more information about the Alabama Tobacco Free Families program, call (205) 975-5428.