The impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on smoking habits and lifestyle: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background and aims: Throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, the resultant psychological disturbances led to more tobacco consumption and deteriorated smoking behaviors among smokers. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the smoking behaviors of the Jordanian population.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was designed using the Google Forms service and distributed by social media platforms. Responses were collected starting from November 12, 2020, until November 24, 2020.

Results: A total of 2511 respondents completed the survey, 77.3% were females. Males were significantly smoking more than females (p < 0.0001). Smoking was significantly more common among respondents who were older than 18 years old, married, held master's and PhD degrees, and working in non-health-related fields (p < 0.0001). Participants who smoke were more likely to adopt an unhealthy lifestyle during the pandemic. Females who started smoking last year were 2.6-fold more than males (p < 0.0001). We also noticed that there is a significant relationship between those who started smoking and are <18 years, living in a family consisting of seven members or more, being unemployed, having a diploma or bachelor's degree in a health-related major, having no chronic illnesses, increasing of daily meals or night meals, almost daily sugar intake, starting to follow social media account concerning physical activity, exercising once or twice a week, and sleeping more hours per day since the beginning of the pandemic (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The results of our study showed that the lockdown had a significant impact on people's lifestyles including smoking habits. Most of our sample's smoker participants experienced a change in their smoking level mostly, an increase. While those who had a decrease in their smoking level experienced a somehow healthier lifestyle regarding nutrition and other aspects.

Keywords: COVID‐19; SARS‐CoV‐19; lockdown; smoking; smoking cessation.

Figure 1

Smoking status (regular cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, hookah, etc.), and changes in smoking habits among smokers since the beginning of the pandemic.

Figure 2

Reasons for changing in smoking habits during the pandemic among respondents who noticed any change in their smoking habits whether an increase or a decrease in the frequency of smoking (n = 340).