Perceived health risks associated with the use of tobacco and nicotine products during the COVID-19 pandemic

INTRODUCTION: The perceived health risks of tobacco products may change during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine the perceived risks of tobacco use on COVID-19 infection and severity, and possible COVID-related changes in perceptions of tobacco use and overall health. METHODS: We conducted an online survey of adults in the United States in June 2020 (n=2097). The survey covered cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, and hookah. We also assessed changes in the use of any of the four tobacco products. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds of agreeing with the perceived risks for each risk and each product, with the adjustment of demographic and COVID-19 related variables. RESULTS: For all four tobacco products, the perceived risks to general health were slightly higher during the pandemic than before the pandemic (77% vs 79.5% for cigarettes) and the perceived risk of COVID-19 severity was larger than the perceived risk of COVID-19 infection (73.3% vs 56.2% for cigarettes). All risk measures varied with tobacco products consistently, with the risks highest for cigarettes, then cigars, followed by e-cigarettes and hookah. Females and people with higher income or education were more likely to endorse the risks of tobacco use than their counterparts. People who perceived higher risks of using cigarettes (OR=1.65; 95% CI: 1.20–2.27) and cigars (OR=1.63; 95% CI: 1.17–2.27) to COVID-19 severity were more likely to have decreased or quit their use. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco/nicotine use was perceived to increase the risk of COVID-19 severity and the perceived risk of tobacco/nicotine use to general health was high during the pandemic, particularly for cigarettes. The change of perceived risks appeared to be prompting harm-reducing changes in tobacco product use.