Observational studyInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
First Report on Smoking and Infection Control Behaviours at Outdoor Hotspots during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Unobtrusive Observational Study.
Observational study in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effect of Adding Personalized Instant Messaging Apps to a Brief Smoking Cessation Model in Community Smokers in Hong Kong: Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Strengthening tobacco control policy: using plain packaging to reduce product appeal and enhance public awareness.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Factors influencing mask-wearing behavior in the context of COVID-19 severity risks in the post-COVID-19 era: a Japanese Nationwide Epidemiological Survey in 2023.Environmental health and preventive medicine · 2025Article
- Perceived increased susceptibility to COVID-19 due to smoking was associated with reduced smoking at home but not on the streets amid the pandemic: A population-based cross-sectional study.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Effect of smoking-related COVID-19 risk messaging on smoking cessation in community smokers: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Risk perceptions and changes in tobacco use in relation to Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic: A qualitative study on adolescent tobacco users in Hong Kong.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- Impact of mandatory masking amid the COVID-19 pandemic on outdoor smoking: an interrupted time-series analysis of a 33-month unobtrusive observational study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Observational
- Association of smoking, lung function and COPD in COVID-19 risk: a two-step Mendelian randomization study.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Article
- The association between tobacco or nicotine product use behaviors and non-compliance with mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study in Korea.Epidemiology and health · 2022Article
- Factors affecting face mask-wearing behaviors to prevent COVID-19 among Thai people: A binary logistic regression model.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Associations of changes in smoking-related practices with quit attempt and smoking consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study.Tobacco induced diseases · 2022Article
- High Perceived Susceptibility to and Severity of COVID-19 in Smokers Are Associated with Quitting-Related Behaviors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
This study was to observe smoking behaviours and infection control behaviours in smokers at outdoor smoking hotspots during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. We conducted unobtrusive observations at nine hotspots during 1 July 2019-31 January 2020 (pre-outbreak, 39 observations), 1 February-30 April 2020 (outbreak, eight observations), and 1 May-11 June 2020 (since-outbreak, 20 observations). Sex, age group, type of tobacco products used, duration of stay, group smoking behaviours, face mask wearing and infection control behaviours of smokers, and mask wearing of non-smoking pedestrians were observed. Compared with pre-outbreak, lower volumes of smokers were observed during outbreak and since-outbreak. Smokers gathered more in a group (24.5% and 25.8% vs. 13.4%, respectively) and stayed longer (91.5% and 83.6% vs. 80.6% stayed ≥1 min) during outbreak and since-outbreak than pre-outbreak. Ninety-six percent smokers possessed a face mask. While smoking, 81.6% of smokers put the mask under the chin and 13.8% carried it in the hand, 32.4% did not wear a mask immediately after smoking, 98.0% did not sanitize hands, and 74.3% did not keep a distance of at least one metre. During the COVID-19 pandemic, smokers gathered closely and stayed longer at the hotspots, and few practised hand hygiene, all of which may increase the risk of infection.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.