Story at a glance
- Smoking is a key risk factor for severe COVID-19 outcomes, including hospitalization and death.
- According to researchers, these risks may have contributed to increased quitting rates seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
- However, whether rates will be sustained beyond the crisis remains to be seen.
Regular smokers made significantly fewer cigarette purchases, cut down on the quantity of cigarettes they smoked and notably quit during the pandemic — behaviors that researchers in a new study say were prompted by the health risks of COVID-19.
Through the pandemic, numerous studies illustrated the heightened health risks of the disease among smokers, including a greater risk of severe symptoms, hospitalization and death.
University of California-San Diego researchers in a study published Tuesday say one “bright spot of the pandemic” could be that heightened awareness of these risks may have led many to change their smoking habits and even quit smoking compared with the year prior.
The study assessed data from Denmark and found that between 2019 and 2020, cigarette purchases among regular smokers decreased between 20 and 30 percent. Meanwhile, the data from more than 4,000 individuals showed quitting rates increased by about 10 percentage points between March 2020 and January 2021.
Around 17 percent of the Denmark population smokes compared with 12.5 percent of the U.S. population.
“The health risks associated with COVID-19 and smoking may help some smokers overcome a key barrier to quitting – that the enjoyment of smoking is felt in the present and health costs are usually felt in the future,” said study co-author Sally Sadoff, an associate professor of economics and strategy at the Rady School of Management, in a statement.
Despite rising rates of stress and declining mental well-being and physical activity seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — factors typically associated with higher tobacco use — the data revealed sustained decreases in smoking, Sadoff added.
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Using information from a nationally representative sample of the Danish population, the researchers assessed tobacco purchases prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic at the individual level. Purchasing data were gleaned from an e-receipt program widely used in Denmark.
The window spanning from March 2020 and January 2021 also saw a 24 percent dip in weekly tobacco purchase rates and a 12 percent decline in average quantities purchased, with these decreases largely driven by regular smokers.
In addition, “regular smokers purchased about 30% less often and they purchased about 20% fewer cigarettes,” authors wrote.
The analysis also found little change in purchase patterns among nonsmokers but showed increasing purchases among occasional smokers.
It remains to be seen whether smoking rates will return to pre-pandemic levels among the population studied, authors wrote. However, data revealed declines in smoking were consistent for at least the first year of the pandemic while quitting rates lasted for at least six months, they noted.
Although data limitations preclude any similar conclusions to be drawn for the U.S. population, “we suspect there was a decline in smoking in this country and others during the same time period,” Sadoff said.
“If the decline in smoking we document persists, not only could it help decrease the risks from COVID-19 as new variants emerge, but also have meaningful, longer-term benefits on population health and life expectancy beyond the pandemic.”
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