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Updated: Jun 24, 2026

Cigarette Smoke Exposure in Mice using a Whole-Body Inhalation System
Published on: October 22, 2020
Smoking and oral contraceptive continuation
Carolyn Westhoff1, Kandice Jones, Christina Robilotto
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. clw3@columbia.edu
Background:
Smoking may be related to early discontinuation of oral contraceptives (OC).
Study Design:
This was a planned secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Women aged less than 25 initiating OC at three inner-city publicly funded family planning clinics enrolled in the study. Subjects reported smoking status at enrollment; 3- and 6-month interviews assessed OC continuation.
Results:
One hundred eighty-nine (12%) of 1598 participants were current smokers. Smokers were more often lost to follow-up than nonsmokers (P<.01). Among participants with a 6-month interview, only 26% of smokers and 46% of nonsmokers were continuing OC (P<.001). After adjustment for confounding factors, smokers were still somewhat less likely to be continuing OC (adjusted OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-1.0). This association was unrelated to number of cigarettes smoked per day.
Conclusions:
These data suggest that young smokers may be more likely to discontinue OC within 6 months than nonsmokers. Smoking may be a marker for risk-taking behavior that extends to the premature discontinuation of OC.
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