Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36889356›Full record

ArticleNicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco2023

Increased Nicotine Consumption in Australia During the First Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Phong K Thai, Benjamin J Tscharke, Jake O'Brien, Coral Gartner, Richard Bade, Cobus Gerber, Jason M White, Qiuda Zheng, Zhe Wang, Kevin V Thomas and 1 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Phong K ThaiQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0042-3057
Benjamin J TscharkeQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
Jake O'BrienQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
Coral GartnerQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-6651-8035
Richard BadeQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
Cobus GerberHealth and Biomedical Innovation, UniSA: Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia.
Jason M WhiteHealth and Biomedical Innovation, UniSA: Clinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001, South Australia, Australia.
Qiuda ZhengQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
Zhe WangQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
Kevin V ThomasQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
Jochen F MuellerQueensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
The University of Queensland · AUUniversity of South Australia · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionMixed findings have been reported about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smoking behavior in different populations. AIMS AND

methodsIn this study, we aimed to quantify changes in smoking prevalence through the proxy of nicotine consumption in the Australian population from 2017 to 2020 inclusive. Estimates of nicotine consumption between 2017 and 2020 were retrieved from a national wastewater monitoring program that covers up to 50% of the Australian population. National sales data for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products from 2017 to 2020 were also acquired. Linear regression and pairwise comparison were conducted to identify data trends and to test differences between time periods.

resultsThe average consumption of nicotine in Australia decreased between 2017 and 2019 but increased in 2020. Estimated consumption in the first half of 2020 was significantly higher (~30%) than the previous period. Sales of NRT products increased gradually from 2017 to 2020 although sales in the first half of the year were consistently lower than in the second half.

conclusionTotal nicotine consumption increased in Australia during the early stage of the pandemic in 2020. Increased nicotine consumption may be due to people managing higher stress levels, such as from loneliness due to control measures, and also greater opportunities to smoke/vape while working from home and during lockdowns in the early stage of the pandemic. IMPLICATIONS: Tobacco and nicotine consumption have been decreasing in Australia but the COVID-19 pandemic may have temporarily disrupted this trend. In 2020, the higher impacts of lockdowns and working from home arrangements may have led to a temporary reversal of the previous downward trend in smoking during the early stage of the pandemic.

Indexed as

COVID-19Smoking CessationAustraliaCommunicable Disease ControlHumansNicotinePandemicsSmoking PreventionTobacco Use Cessation DevicesNicotine

Identifiers

PMID36889356
PMCPMC10202641
OpenAlexW4323539290

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.