The impact of perceived risk of COVID-19 from smoking on the change in number of cigarettes smoked

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Smoking increases the risk of severe illness and mortality from COVID-19. However, the impact of risk perception on smoking over time is unknown. Method(s) Participants (n = 487) who reported having smoked daily or nondaily in February 2020 were recruited through Reddit and completed a cross-sectional survey. Linear regression models examined the impact of perception that smoking increases the risk of COVID-19 on changes in cigarettes per day (CPD). Result(s) The greater perceived risk of smoking on COVID-19 predicted greater decreases in CPD from before the pandemic (December 2019-February 2020) to March-May 2020, but no change was observed from March-May 2020 to June-August 2020. However, greater perceived risk predicted increases in CPD from June-August 2020 to November 2020-January 2021. Participants with high levels of perceived risk (>75th percentile) were more likely to reduce their CPD in the beginning of the pandemic compared to those with low perceived risk (<=25th percentile), but more likely to increase their CPD between June-August 2020 to November 2020-January 2021, even though perceived risk remained stable over time. Conclusion(s) Perceived risk is associated with a reduction in CPD, but participants returned to their pre-COVID smoking behavior within less than a year.Copyright © 2023 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.