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. 2022 Jan;16(1):57-62.
doi: 10.1111/crj.13452. Epub 2021 Oct 25.

Role of tobacco exposure in the course of COVID-19 disease and the impact of the disease on smoking behavior

Tahsin Gökhan Telatar  1 , Dilek Karadoğan  2 , Mehmet Halit Baykal  3 , Burcu Aykanat Yurtsever  3
Affiliations

Role of tobacco exposure in the course of COVID-19 disease and the impact of the disease on smoking behavior

Tahsin Gökhan Telatar et al. Clin Respir J. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Background: The effect of COVID-19 on smoking behavior is not fully known. Studies evaluating the link between smoking and COVID-19 have controversial results. This study aims to evaluate patients' smoking status with COVID-19 and the effect of COVID-19 on smoking behavior.

Methods: Data were collected from 150 COVID-19 patients with a positive polymerase chain reaction test for SARS-CoV-2 between 11 March 2020 and 15 May 2020 in Rize, Turkey. Patients were interviewed by phone calls 2 months after their recovery. After 9 months, a follow-up was performed for those who quit smoking.

Results: Of the participants, 19 (12.7%) were current smokers before the COVID-19 diagnosis, and 15 (78.9%) of them stated that they quit smoking after their diagnosis. After nine months of follow-up, 11 of those 15 participants (57.8%) sustained abstinence.

Conclusion: Smoking cessation rates are high in people with COVID-19. Besides, the frequency of sustaining abstinence in the long term was also high in these individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic should be viewed as an open opportunity to strengthen and prioritize smoking cessation activities.

Keywords: COVID-19; follow-up; quit rate; smoking; sustained abstinence.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The smoking status of the patients included in the study and the changes observed during the pandemic period
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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