Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, tobacco research has delivered new evidence on the harmfulness of smoking in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the course of the COVID-19 disease. More and more research proves that smoking is an important risk factor contributing to increased risk of mortality among COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study was to assess whether and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted decisions about quitting smoking. A total of 4072 records of anonymized data were obtained from the Polish National Quitline. Between 15 April 2020 and 31 May 2021, the callers were asked about the COVID-19 pandemic and its influence on their decisions on smoking continuation or cessation. Our results indicate that smokers are very receptive to communication concerning COVID-19 and smoking risk. This phenomenon can possibly be connected to the immediate potential health consequences of smoking and COVID-19 virus infection. Results may indicate that putting emphasis on arguments combined with short-term health consequences of smoking may result in better outcomes in smoking cessation. There is a need for further and constant education on tobacco-related health harm. Our results showed that an irregular and mass communication on health consequences may result in high effectiveness in smoking cessation.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, pandemic, Tobacco, smoking, Poland, smoking cessation, 【초록키워드】 Mortality, SARS-COV-2 infection, COVID-19 pandemic, Infection, risk, outcome, risk factor, COVID-19 disease, Health, outbreak, Research, Effectiveness, COVID-19 virus, COVID-19 patients, Evidence, smoker, increased risk, anonymized data, consequence, Course, Result, contributing to, concerning, impacted, asked,