Use Of Smoking Cessation Digital Platforms During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Insights From Smokfree.Gov

El-Toukhy S.
Use Of Smoking Cessation Digital Platforms During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Insights From Smokfree.Gov Initiative.
J Med Internet Res. 2021 Feb 19. doi: 10.2196/24593. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33646963.

Background. Smoking is a plausible risk factor for covid-19 progression and complications. Smoking cessation digital platforms transcend pandemic-driven social distancing and lockdown measures to assist smokers in their quit attempts.
Objective. To examine trends in the number of visitors, followers, and subscribers to smoking cessation digital platforms from January to April of 2020 compared to traffic observed during the same four-months period in 2019. Examining pre- and post-pandemic trends in traffic to smoking cessation digital platforms can reveal interest in smoking cessation among smokers that is attributable to the covid-19 pandemic.
Methods. Cross-sectional data from daily visitors to SmokeFree.gov, followers of six social media accounts, and subscribers to SmokeFree text messaging and mobile application interventions of the National Cancer Institute's SmokeFree.gov initiative (SFGI) platforms that are publicly available to US smokers were obtained. Average daily percentage changes (ADPC) measured trends for the entire January-to-April study period, whereas daily percentage changes (DPC) measured trends for each time segment of change within the four-month period. Data analysis was conducted in May and June 2020.
Results. New daily visitors to SmokeFree.gov (DPC= 18.79%, CI: 5.16%, 34.19% between days 39 and 44) and subscribers of adult-focused interventions, QuitGuide (DPC=1.11%, CI: 0.80%, 1.43% between days 11 and 62) and SmokeFreeTXT (DPC= 0.23%,CI: 0.004%, 0.47% between days 11 and 89), increased but were followed by declines in traffic. No comparable peaks were observed in 2019. New daily subscribers of quitSTART, the teen-focused intervention, trended downward in 2020 (ADPC= -1.02%, CI: -1.88%, -0.15%), whereas the overall 2019 trend was insignificant. Followers of SmokeFree social media accounts showed a steady increase of less than 0.1% over the four-month study period in 2019 and 2020.
Conclusions. Peaks in traffic to SmokeFree.gov and adult-focused interventions in 2020 could be attributed to an increased interest in smoking cessation among smokers during the covid-19 pandemic. Coordinated campaigns should emphasize smoking cessation as a preventive measure against covid-19 especially among adolescents and raise awareness of digital smoking cessation platforms capitalizing on heightened interest during the pandemic.