Participants sought for new SNAP-3 research study

Pregnant people looking to stop smoking are being invited to join a new study taking place across Hull and East Yorkshire.

SNAP-3 is open to those who are less than 25 weeks pregnant and who smoke more than five cigarettes a day.

The study will look at how nicotine replacement can be used in different ways to help expectant parents kick the habit.

Overseen by the University of Nottingham, SNAP-3 will be led locally by research midwives at Hull Women and Children’s Hospital. There is a national target of 1,430 participants, with Hull looking to recruit 15 of those by December 2025.

Sarah Collins, Lead Research Midwife for NHS Humber Health Partnership says:

“A lot of research has been conducted into the effectiveness of NRT, but there is less evidence of its success during pregnancy.

“The SNAP-3 study will provide participants with nicotine patches and different types of behavioural support in a bid to improve their chances of stopping smoking.

“We are hoping to speak with would-be participants at an early stage, either at booking or their dating scan, to invite anyone smoking more than five cigarettes a day, and who lives in Hull or East Yorkshire, to take part.”

The SNAP-3 study is intended to complement existing hospital-based stop smoking support delivered through the hospital’s in-house NHS Maternity Tobacco Dependency Team.

Signing up to the study involves a quick telephone conversation, including a number of non-judgmental questions about smoking habits, then there’s just a consent form to complete.

Each participant is then randomly allocated to one of two groups; either to receive the usual care provided by the hospital-based stop smoking team or the SNAP-3 study intervention, which involves using NRT in a slightly different way for a period of one to four weeks.

Sarah continues:

“Stopping smoking can be difficult and every smoker will have different factors and lifestyle issues that feed into their habit. Often, they recognise a lot of them but need some extra help to break those habits.

“The SNAP-3 study will allow us to try a slightly different way of supporting pregnant people who smoke to quit, and then compare its effectiveness with routine NRT support.

“Stopping smoking is the best possible thing a parent can do for their unborn child, so this study has the potential not only to improve the health of the pregnant parent, but also to increase the chances of a safe and healthy delivery and to enable baby to grow and develop to its full potential too.”

If you are under 25 weeks pregnant and would be interested in stopping smoking/learning more about the SNAP-3 study, complete the online form to check your eligibility.