ArticleAddiction (Abingdon, England)2021
Association of the COVID-19 lockdown with smoking, drinking and attempts to quit in England: an analysis of 2019-20 data.
Article in Addiction (Abingdon, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05069090 (Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Two Chilean Universities), which is not on this map. Cited by 176 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Alcohol and Tobacco Use in Two Chilean Universities: a Difference-in-difference Analysis
Who cites it
176 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on smoking and vaping: systematic review and meta-analysis.Public health · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Mental disorders following COVID-19 and other epidemics: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Changes in alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic and previous pandemics: A systematic review.Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research · 2022Pooled it
- Changes in alcohol use during COVID-19 and associations with contextual and individual difference variables: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Pooled it
- The early impact of COVID-19 on the incidence, prevalence, and severity of alcohol use and other drugs: A systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Pooled it
- The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns: a review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies and natural experiments.Psychological medicine · 2021Pooled it
- The Stop-tabac smartphone application for smoking cessation: a randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Trial
- Quit Experiences among Primary Care Patients Enrolled in a Smoking Cessation Pilot RCT Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Health effects of immediate telework introduction during the COVID-19 era in Japan: A cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Are Increases in Purchasing Alcohol-Free and Low-Alcohol Drinks Associated With Attempts to Cut Down on Alcohol Consumption in England? A Time Series Analysis.Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- What Are the Characteristics of Households That Purchase Alcohol-Free and Low-Alcohol Drinks in Great Britain in 2018 and 2021?Drug and alcohol review · 2026Article
- Exploring Motives for Reducing Alcohol Consumption Among Users of an Alcohol Reduction App: Content Analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2026Article
- Smoking and quitting inequalities among gender-diverse adults in Great Britain: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Trauma led us to substance use: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of refugee youth experiences with substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Estimating recent trends in alcohol sales in the United Kingdom from alcohol duty revenue.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Article
- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smoking in adolescents: a scoping review.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Smoking prevalence and purchasing of menthol cigarettes since the menthol flavour ban in Great Britain: a population-based survey between 2020 and 2023.Tobacco control · 2025Article
116 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimTo examine changes in smoking, drinking and quitting/reduction behaviour following the COVID-19 lockdown in England. DESIGN/
settingMonthly cross-sectional surveys representative of the adult population in England, aggregated before (April 2019-February 2020) versus after (April 2020) lockdown.
participantsA total of 20 558 adults (≥ 16 years). MEASUREMENTS: The independent variable was the timing of the COVID-19 lockdown (before versus after March 2020). Dependent variables were: prevalence of smoking and high-risk drinking, past-year cessation and quit attempts (among past-year smokers), past-year attempts to reduce alcohol consumption (among high-risk drinkers) and use of evidence-based (e.g. prescription medication/face-to-face behavioural support) and remote support [telephone support/websites/applications (apps)] for smoking cessation and alcohol reduction (among smokers/high-risk drinkers who made a quit/reduction attempt). Covariates included age, sex, social grade, region and level of nicotine and alcohol dependence (as relevant).
findingsThe COVID-19 lockdown was not associated with a significant change in smoking prevalence [17.0% (after) versus 15.9% (before), odds ratio (OR) = 1.09, 95% CI = 0.95-1.24], but was associated with increases in quit attempts [39.6 versus 29.1%, adjusted odds ratio (OR
conclusionsFollowing the March 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, smokers and high-risk drinkers in England were more likely than before lockdown to report trying to quit smoking or reduce alcohol consumption and rates of smoking cessation and use of remote cessation support were higher. However, high-risk drinking prevalence increased post-lockdown and use of evidence-based support for alcohol reduction by high-risk drinkers decreased with no compensatory increase in use of remote support.
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Registered trials
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.