| Summary: | Introduction
China has more than 300 million current smokers. There is a
controversy over smokers’ risk of COVID-19 infection. Smoking is a risk factor
for COVID-19 disease progression, and the outbreak of COVID-19 may change
people’s smoking behaviors. This study assessed people’s attitudes towards
‘smoking and COVID-19’ and changes of smoking behaviors before and after
the outbreak of COVID-19.
Material and Methods
A cross-sectional web survey of 11009 adults in China was conducted
between 7 May and 3 August 2020. Attitudes towards ‘smoking and COVID-19’
were compared among non-smokers (n=8837), ex-smokers (n=399) and current
smokers (n=1773), and changes in smoking behaviors before and after the
outbreak of COVID-19 were assessed among current smokers.
Results
Fewer current smokers (26.2%) agreed with the statement that ‘Current
smokers are more likely than ex-smokers or non-smokers to contract COVID-19’
compared with non-smokers (53%) or ex-smokers (41.4%); fewer current smokers
(55.9%) agreed with the statement ‘If contracted, current smokers are more likely
than ex-smokers or non-smokers to risk disease progression’ compared with nonsmokers
(75.5%) or ex-smokers (68.7%). There were no changes in cigarettes
smoked per day (mean ± SD: 13.3 ± 9.55 vs 13.4 ± 9.69, p=0.414), percentage
of daily smokers (70.8% vs 71.1%, p=0.882) and percentage of smokers with
motivation to quit (intend to quit within the next 6 months, 9.4% vs 10.9%,
p=0.148) before and after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Conclusions
The survey found that fewer current smokers agreed that smoking is
a risk-factor for COVID-19 compared with non-smokers or ex-smokers. Among
current smokers, there were no changes in their cigarette consumption and
motivation to quit before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. More efforts are
needed to educate smokers about the health risks of smoking, as well as efforts
to promote their motivation to quit.
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