Mao Yimeng, Zhao Yuchen, Eriksen Michael, Huang Jidong, Redmon Pamela, Spears Claire, Zheng Pinpin
Department 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 China.
Department of Health Policy and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, United States.
Tob Induc Dis. 2023 Mar 9;21:37. doi: 10.18332/tid/160064. eCollection 2023.
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.
An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese adult smokers. Participants were recruited through snowball sampling from 19 March to 2 April 2020.
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).
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.
自中国报告首例新冠病毒肺炎病例以来，人们社交和互动的方式发生了重大变化。然而，对于新冠疫情如何改变吸烟行为，在中国却知之甚少。本研究旨在评估中国新冠疫情早期吸烟行为的变化及戒烟意愿，并调查相关因素。
对中国成年吸烟者进行了一项在线横断面调查。参与者于2020年3月19日至4月2日通过滚雪球抽样法招募。
共有1388名吸烟者参与了本研究。其中，1014人（73.0%）报告称吸烟量未变，104人（7.5%）报告吸烟量增加，268人（19.3%）报告因疫情吸烟量减少。所有参与者的平均每日吸烟量从15.0（四分位间距：10.0 - 20.0）降至13.0（四分位间距：8.0 - 20.0）（W = 6.919，p < 0.001）。关于戒烟意愿，270名（19.5%）受访者报告更愿意戒烟，91名（6.6%）报告更不愿意戒烟。多因素分析显示，烟草成瘾、对吸烟与新冠病毒肺炎关系的总体认知、对新冠病毒肺炎的关注程度、焦虑情绪、独居以及家庭中吸烟者数量与吸烟量和戒烟意愿显著相关，独居是与吸烟量增加关联最强的因素（比值比 = 5.29；95%置信区间：1.51 - 18.56）。
新冠疫情导致中国吸烟者的吸烟量略有下降，戒烟意愿有所增加。在疫情早期，关注吸烟者的焦虑情绪、消除吸烟者对吸烟与新冠病毒肺炎的误解并在家庭中营造支持性环境以帮助吸烟者戒烟非常重要。
