Tobacco Quit Intentions and Behaviors among Cigar Smokers in the United States in Response to COVID-19

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 17; no. 15; p. 5368
• Main Authors: Kowitt, Sarah D, Cornacchione Ross, Jennifer, Jarman, Kristen L, Kistler, Christine E, Lazard, Allison J, Ranney, Leah M, Sheeran, Paschal, Thrasher, James F, Goldstein, Adam O
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 25-07-2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Betacoronavirus; Black or African American; Cigar Smoking; Cigars; Complications; Coronavirus Infections - ethnology; Coronavirus Infections - psychology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Flammability; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Intention; Male; Middle Aged; Nicotiana; Pandemics; Perceptions; Pneumonia, Viral - ethnology; Pneumonia, Viral - psychology; Risk perception; SARS-CoV-2; Smokers - psychology; Tobacco; Tobacco Products; Tobacco Use; Tobacco Use Cessation - ethnology; Tobacco Use Cessation - psychology; United States; United States; United States > US; COVID-19; smoking cessation; cigar; risk; tobacco; communication; quitting
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17155368

Combustible tobacco users appear to be at greater risk for serious complications from COVID-19. This study examined cigar smokers' perceived risk of COVID-19, quit intentions, and behaviors during the current pandemic. We conducted an online study between 23 April 2020 to 7 May 2020, as part of an ongoing study examining perceptions of different health effects of cigars. All participants used cigars in the past 30 days (n = 777). Three-quarters of the sample (76.0%) perceived they had a higher risk of complications from COVID-19 compared to non-smokers. The majority of participants (70.8%) intended to quit in the next six months due to COVID-19, and almost half of the sample (46.5%) reported making a quit attempt since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Far more participants reported increasing their tobacco use since COVID-19 started (40.9%) vs. decreasing their tobacco use (17.8%). Black or African American participants, participants who reported using a quitline, and participants with higher COVID-19 risk perceptions had higher intentions to quit using tobacco due to COVID-19, and higher odds of making a quit attempt since COVID-19 started. More research is needed to understand how tobacco users are perceiving COVID-19 risks and changing their tobacco use behaviors.