Introduction: One of the questions raised by the Consensus conference "Pregnancy and Tobacco" conducted in October 2004 in France concerned the public health measures which should be studied to reduce antenatal exposure to tobacco.
Methods: We conducted a review of the literature on the following topics: smoking cessation interventions, smoking cessation biochemical validation, role of health professionals in smoking cessation and financial coverage of smoking cessation programs for pregnant women.
Results: Smoking cessation interventions during pregnancy lead to a lower rate of low birth weight, a reduction of preterm births and an increase in average birth weight. Biochemical validation of smoking cessation is necessary for both scientific and educational purposes. The role of health professionals in smoking cessation has been proved to be effective.
Conclusion: Implementation of smoking cessation programs tailored for pregnant women is necessary in France, after appropriate training of health professionals. A study should be set up to test the efficacy of Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) on smoking cessation during pregnancy.