The Double-Edged Relationship Between COVID-19 Stress and Smoking: Implications for Smoking Cessatio
Friday, August 14, 2020
Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Bommele J, Hopman P, Walters
BH, et al.
The Double-Edged
Relationship Between COVID-19 Stress and Smoking: Implications for Smoking
Cessation.
Tob Induc Dis. 2020;18:63. Published 2020 Jul 27. doi:10.18332/tid/125580
Introduction: Although
recent research shows that smokers respond differently to the COVID-19
pandemic, it offers little explanation of why some have increased their
smoking, while others decreased it. In this study, we examined a possible
explanation for these different responses: pandemic-related stress.
Methods: We
conducted an online survey among a representative sample of Dutch current
smokers from 11-18 May 2020 (n=957). During that period, COVID-19 was six weeks
past the (initial) peak of cases and deaths in the Netherlands. Included in the
survey were measures of how the COVID-19 pandemic had changed their smoking, if
at all (no change, increased smoking, decreased smoking), and a measure of
stress due to COVID-19.
Results: Overall,
while 14.1% of smokers reported smoking less due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
18.9% of smokers reported smoking more. A multinomial logistic regression
analysis revealed that there was a dose-response effect of stress: smokers who
were somewhat stressed were more likely to have either increased (OR=2.37; 95%
CI: 1.49-3.78) or reduced (OR=1.80; 95% CI: 1.07-3.05) their smoking. Severely
stressed smokers were even more likely to have either increased (OR=3.75; 95%
CI: 1.84-7.64) or reduced (OR=3.97; 95% CI: 1.70-9.28) their smoking. Thus, stress
was associated with both increased and reduced smoking, independently from
perceived difficulty of quitting and level of motivation to quit.
Conclusions: Stress
related to the COVID-19 pandemic appears to affect smokers in different ways,
some smokers increase their smoking while others decrease it. While boredom and
restrictions in movement might have stimulated smoking, the threat of
contracting COVID-19 and becoming severely ill might have motivated others to
improve their health by quitting smoking. These data highlight the importance
of providing greater resources for cessation services and the importance of
creating public campaigns to enhance cessation in this dramatic time.
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