Nicotine-replacement therapy in pregnancy-the end of the road?

Smoking in pregnancy is associated with serious perinatal risks, leading to attempts to prevent smoking with the use of nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT). After more than a decade of studies failing to show the effectiveness of NRT for smoking cessation in pregnancy, a recent large, randomized trial has clearly shown that the failure may be caused by >90% dropout rate. Several secondary analyses of randomized trials have shown that NRT is efficacious in decreasing smoking in pregnancy and in optimizing fetal growth among women who take the product. But to be effective in smoking cessation, any drug has to be taken by the patients. Can we overcome the dismal rates of pregnant women's adherence to NRT, so we can save unborn babies from the serious risks associated with their mothers' smoking?