Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, 4006, Australia.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 May 22;25(6):1194-1197. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntac275.
Mixed findings have been reported about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smoking behavior in different populations.
In this study, we aimed to quantify changes in smoking prevalence through the proxy of nicotine consumption in the Australian population from 2017 to 2020 inclusive. Estimates of nicotine consumption between 2017 and 2020 were retrieved from a national wastewater monitoring program that covers up to 50% of the Australian population. National sales data for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products from 2017 to 2020 were also acquired. Linear regression and pairwise comparison were conducted to identify data trends and to test differences between time periods.
The average consumption of nicotine in Australia decreased between 2017 and 2019 but increased in 2020. Estimated consumption in the first half of 2020 was significantly higher (~30%) than the previous period. Sales of NRT products increased gradually from 2017 to 2020 although sales in the first half of the year were consistently lower than in the second half.
Total nicotine consumption increased in Australia during the early stage of the pandemic in 2020. Increased nicotine consumption may be due to people managing higher stress levels, such as from loneliness due to control measures, and also greater opportunities to smoke/vape while working from home and during lockdowns in the early stage of the pandemic.
Tobacco and nicotine consumption have been decreasing in Australia but the COVID-19 pandemic may have temporarily disrupted this trend. In 2020, the higher impacts of lockdowns and working from home arrangements may have led to a temporary reversal of the previous downward trend in smoking during the early stage of the pandemic.
在不同人群中，COVID-19 大流行对吸烟行为的影响报告结果不一。
本研究旨在通过 2017 年至 2020 年澳大利亚人群尼古丁消费的代理指标来量化吸烟率的变化。通过覆盖澳大利亚 50%人口的国家废水监测计划，我们获取了 2017 年至 2020 年期间尼古丁消费的估计值。还获取了 2017 年至 2020 年尼古丁替代疗法（NRT）产品的国家销售数据。我们进行了线性回归和两两比较，以确定数据趋势并测试不同时间段之间的差异。
澳大利亚的尼古丁平均消费量在 2017 年至 2019 年间下降，但在 2020 年有所增加。2020 年上半年的估计消费量明显较高（约 30%）。尽管 2017 年至 2020 年 NRT 产品的销售额逐渐增加，但上半年的销售额始终低于下半年。
2020 年大流行早期，澳大利亚的总尼古丁消费量增加。尼古丁消费增加可能是由于人们应对更高的压力水平，例如由于控制措施导致的孤独感，以及在大流行早期在家工作和封锁期间吸烟/蒸气的机会增加。
在澳大利亚，烟草和尼古丁消费一直在减少，但 COVID-19 大流行可能暂时打破了这一趋势。2020 年，封锁和在家工作安排的影响更大，可能导致大流行早期吸烟的先前下降趋势暂时逆转。
