A new study suggests that pregnant female smokers can reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke by using nicotine gum, USA Today reported Sept. 29.

Nicotine replacement is not an approved therapy for pregnant women and there are few studies of its effects in pregnancy. This study followed 200 women who smoked an average of 10 cigarettes a day.

Study subjects who were provided with nicotine gum reduced their smoking by half while those given a placebo cut back by 3 or 4 cigarettes daily. All women were offered counseling sessions.

Avoiding the use of tobacco is recognized as an important factor in pregnancy. Researchers pointed out that smoking is a cause of low birthweight and prematurity, and is blamed for up to 10 percent of infant deaths.

Nicotine itself poses some risks, but lead author Cheryl Oncken from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine said that ingesting the drug may be safer than inhaling tobacco smoke.

Thomas Glyn from the American Cancer Society noted that the study was significant because of its focus on women with historically high smoking rates: women with low incomes, little education, and a history of mental-health issues.

The study will appear in the Oct. 8, 2008 issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.