Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China
Introduction Significant changes occurred in the way people socialize and interact with each other since China reported its first COVID-19 cases. However, little is known about how smoking behaviors may have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. The aim of this study was to assess changes i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
European Publishing
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Tobacco Induced Diseases |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/Changes-in-cigarette-consumption-and-intention-to-quit-in-nresponse-to-the-COVID,160064,0,2.html |
| _version_ | 1827942370271821824 |
|---|---|
| author | Yimeng Mao Yuchen Zhao Michael Eriksen Jidong Huang Pamela Redmon Claire Spears Pinpin Zheng |
| author_facet | Yimeng Mao Yuchen Zhao Michael Eriksen Jidong Huang Pamela Redmon Claire Spears Pinpin Zheng |
| author_sort | Yimeng Mao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction
Significant changes occurred in the way people socialize and interact
with each other since China reported its first COVID-19 cases. However, little is
known about how smoking behaviors may have changed due to the COVID-19
pandemic in China. The aim of this study was to assess changes in smoking
behavior and intention to quit during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic
in China and to investigate the associated factors.
Methods
An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese adult
smokers. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling from 19 March
to 2 April 2020.
Results
A total of 1388 smokers participated in this study. Of those, 1014 (73.0%)
reported not changing their cigarette consumption, 104 (7.5%) reported smoking
more and 268 (19.3%) reported smoking less due to the pandemic. Average
daily cigarette consumption among all participants decreased from 15.0 (IQR:
10.0–20.0) to 13.0 (IQR: 8.0–20.0) (W=6.919, p<0.001). For intention to
quit, 270 (19.5%) respondents reported becoming more willing to quit, and 91
(6.6%) reported becoming less willing to quit. Multivariate analyses showed that
tobacco addiction, overall knowledge about the relationship between smoking
and COVID-19, level of attention devoted to COVID-19, anxiety, living alone,
and number of smokers in the family were significantly correlated with cigarette
consumption and intention to quit, and living alone was the strongest factor
associated with increased cigarette consumption (AOR=5.29; 95% CI: 1.51–
18.56).
Conclusions
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a slight decrease in cigarette
consumption and an increase in quitting intention among Chinese smokers.
During the early stages of the pandemic, it was important to focus on the anxiety
of smokers, dispel smokers’ misunderstandings of smoking and COVID-19 and
create a supporting environment in the family to help smokers quit. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:58:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23dbf1213eef49018d19f98ef49a0cf3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1617-9625 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:58:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | European Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tobacco Induced Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-23dbf1213eef49018d19f98ef49a0cf32023-05-23T11:04:20ZengEuropean PublishingTobacco Induced Diseases1617-96252023-03-0121March11010.18332/tid/160064160064Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in ChinaYimeng Mao0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7121-1516Yuchen Zhao1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1935-8147Michael Eriksen2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0136-0978Jidong Huang3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3425-9155Pamela Redmon4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6465-8675Claire Spears5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7869-5661Pinpin Zheng6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3902-2955Department of Preventive Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Institute of Health Communication, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Institute of Health Communication, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, United StatesDepartment of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, United StatesGlobal Health Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, United StatesDepartment of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, United StatesDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Health Education, School of Public Health, Institute of Health Communication, Key Lab of Public Health Safety of Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaIntroduction Significant changes occurred in the way people socialize and interact with each other since China reported its first COVID-19 cases. However, little is known about how smoking behaviors may have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China. The aim of this study was to assess changes in smoking behavior and intention to quit during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in China and to investigate the associated factors. Methods An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese adult smokers. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling from 19 March to 2 April 2020. Results A total of 1388 smokers participated in this study. Of those, 1014 (73.0%) reported not changing their cigarette consumption, 104 (7.5%) reported smoking more and 268 (19.3%) reported smoking less due to the pandemic. Average daily cigarette consumption among all participants decreased from 15.0 (IQR: 10.0–20.0) to 13.0 (IQR: 8.0–20.0) (W=6.919, p<0.001). For intention to quit, 270 (19.5%) respondents reported becoming more willing to quit, and 91 (6.6%) reported becoming less willing to quit. Multivariate analyses showed that tobacco addiction, overall knowledge about the relationship between smoking and COVID-19, level of attention devoted to COVID-19, anxiety, living alone, and number of smokers in the family were significantly correlated with cigarette consumption and intention to quit, and living alone was the strongest factor associated with increased cigarette consumption (AOR=5.29; 95% CI: 1.51– 18.56). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic led to a slight decrease in cigarette consumption and an increase in quitting intention among Chinese smokers. During the early stages of the pandemic, it was important to focus on the anxiety of smokers, dispel smokers’ misunderstandings of smoking and COVID-19 and create a supporting environment in the family to help smokers quit.http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/Changes-in-cigarette-consumption-and-intention-to-quit-in-nresponse-to-the-COVID,160064,0,2.htmlsmokingchinacigarette consumptionintention to quitcovid-19 |
| spellingShingle | Yimeng Mao Yuchen Zhao Michael Eriksen Jidong Huang Pamela Redmon Claire Spears Pinpin Zheng Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China Tobacco Induced Diseases smoking china cigarette consumption intention to quit covid-19 |
| title | Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China |
| title_full | Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China |
| title_fullStr | Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China |
| title_short | Changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic in China |
| title_sort | changes in cigarette consumption and intention to quit in response to the covid 19 pandemic in china |
| topic | smoking china cigarette consumption intention to quit covid-19 |
| url | http://www.tobaccoinduceddiseases.org/Changes-in-cigarette-consumption-and-intention-to-quit-in-nresponse-to-the-COVID,160064,0,2.html |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yimengmao changesincigaretteconsumptionandintentiontoquitinresponsetothecovid19pandemicinchina AT yuchenzhao changesincigaretteconsumptionandintentiontoquitinresponsetothecovid19pandemicinchina AT michaeleriksen changesincigaretteconsumptionandintentiontoquitinresponsetothecovid19pandemicinchina AT jidonghuang changesincigaretteconsumptionandintentiontoquitinresponsetothecovid19pandemicinchina AT pamelaredmon changesincigaretteconsumptionandintentiontoquitinresponsetothecovid19pandemicinchina AT clairespears changesincigaretteconsumptionandintentiontoquitinresponsetothecovid19pandemicinchina AT pinpinzheng changesincigaretteconsumptionandintentiontoquitinresponsetothecovid19pandemicinchina |