ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2021
The relationship between COVID-19-specific health risk beliefs and the motivation to quit smoking: A UK-based survey.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- An examination of the relationship between perceptions that cigarette smoking increases the severity of COVID-19 and reduction in smoking during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the 2021 ITC Korea Survey.Tobacco induced diseases · 2025Article
- Motivational and behavioral mechanisms underlying generalized health risking behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic in smokers.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 versus Influenza A Virus: Characteristics and Co-Treatments.Microorganisms · 2023Review
- Cutting down, quitting and motivation to stop smoking by self-reported COVID-19 status: Representative cross-sectional surveys in England.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Article
- Vaping in a Time of Pandemics: Risk Perception and Motivations for Electronic Cigarette Use.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Article
- Effect of smoking-related COVID-19 risk messaging on smoking cessation in community smokers: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial.Tobacco induced diseases · 2023Article
- 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
- Specific Pandemic-Related Worries Predict Higher Attention-Related Errors and Negative Affect Independent of Trait Anxiety in UK-Based Students.Cognitive therapy and research · 2023Article
- A Longitudinal Study on the Addictive Behaviors of General Population before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Sustained decline in tobacco purchasing in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic.Communications medicine · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn some individuals who smoke, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an increase in the motivation to quit smoking due to the potential higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection. However, this change is not universal, and the motivation to quit appears dependent upon factors such as fear of COVID-19 and perceived risk from COVID-19. In the current investigation both COVID-19 severity and infection probability beliefs were measured to isolate which beliefs correlated with the motivation to quit smoking.
methodsUK-based smokers (N = 243) completed an online survey between September and October 2020, in which they reported their current motivation to quit smoking, fear of COVID-19, and their beliefs about how severe COVID-19 infection would be and how probable COVID-19 infection was.
resultsThe only significant predictor of the motivation to quit smoking was the perceived probability of COVID-19 infection, β = .22, p < .001, 95CI[.10, .34]. This relationship remained when controlling for the general perceived probability and severity of other smoking-related health risks, β = .20, p = .002, 95CI[.08,.32], suggesting a COVID-19-specific effect. Further, perceived probability of COVID-19 infection mediated the positive impact of fear of COVID-19 on motivation, β = .07, p = .006, 95CI[.03,.13].
conclusionsThe result places the perceived probability of COVID-19 infection as a central predictor of the motivation to quit during the pandemic. Based on this evidence, messaging aiming to facilitate smoking cessation during the pandemic should focus on the highly contagious nature of the virus to increase the motivation to quit.
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