Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32733178›Full record

ArticleTobacco induced diseases2020

The double-edged relationship between COVID-19 stress and smoking: Implications for smoking cessation.

Jeroen Bommele, Petra Hopman, Bethany Hipple Walters, Cloé Geboers, Esther Croes, Geoffrey T Fong, Anne C K Quah, Marc Willemsen

Open access · goldAbstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Tobacco induced diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 124 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
124citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
15.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

124 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 210 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Initiation of tobacco use during the pandemic: risk factors in the Brazilian context.Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology · 2026
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  14. Trends in Daily Cigarette Consumption Among Smokers: A Population Study in England, 2008-2023.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025
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64 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Jeroen BommeleThe Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Petra HopmanThe Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Bethany Hipple WaltersThe Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Cloé GeboersThe Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Esther CroesThe Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Geoffrey T FongDepartment of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.
Anne C K QuahDepartment of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada.
Marc WillemsenThe Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Trimbos Institute · NLOntario Institute for Cancer Research · CAUniversity of Waterloo · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAlthough recent research shows that smokers respond differently to the COVID-19 pandemic, it offers little explanation of why some have increased their smoking, while others decreased it. In this study, we examined a possible explanation for these different responses: pandemic-related stress.

methodsWe conducted an online survey among a representative sample of Dutch current smokers from 11-18 May 2020 (n=957). During that period, COVID-19 was six weeks past the (initial) peak of cases and deaths in the Netherlands. Included in the survey were measures of how the COVID-19 pandemic had changed their smoking, if at all (no change, increased smoking, decreased smoking), and a measure of stress due to COVID-19.

resultsOverall, while 14.1% of smokers reported smoking less due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 18.9% of smokers reported smoking more. A multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that there was a dose-response effect of stress: smokers who were somewhat stressed were more likely to have either increased (OR=2.37; 95% CI: 1.49-3.78) or reduced (OR=1.80; 95% CI: 1.07-3.05) their smoking. Severely stressed smokers were even more likely to have either increased (OR=3.75; 95% CI: 1.84-7.64) or reduced (OR=3.97; 95% CI: 1.70-9.28) their smoking. Thus, stress was associated with both increased and reduced smoking, independently from perceived difficulty of quitting and level of motivation to quit.

conclusionsStress related to the COVID-19 pandemic appears to affect smokers in different ways, some smokers increase their smoking while others decrease it. While boredom and restrictions in movement might have stimulated smoking, the threat of contracting COVID-19 and becoming severely ill might have motivated others to improve their health by quitting smoking. These data highlight the importance of providing greater resources for cessation services and the importance of creating public campaigns to enhance cessation in this dramatic time.

Indexed as

COVID-19smokingsmoking behaviorstressThe Netherlands

Identifiers

PMID32733178
PMCPMC7386200
OpenAlexW3045731470

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.