Covid Spikes on Tobacco Sticks - Tobacco Habit Changes During Covid-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Tobacco is the foremost preventable cause of death and disease in the world today, killing half of the people who use it. The use of tobacco is a risk factor for many respiratory infections and increases the severity of respiratory diseases. Experts have conrmed that tobacco users are more likely to develop severe symptoms or die from COVID-19, as it primarily attacks the lungs. Hence the present study assessed the tobacco habit changes during COVID-19 pandemic and to determine the factors associated with tobacco habits during pandemic. A mixed method study was conducted from December 20 Methodology: 21 – January 2022 among 200 tobacco users attending outpatient services in a tertiary care hospital, Tamil Nadu, South India with informed consent using an interview administered structured questionnaire by convenient sampling method. Result: Out of 200 study participants, around 59% participants have experienced decrease in tobacco consumption during COVID-19 pandemic because of lockdown (24%), lack of accessibility (19%) and 5.5% individuals was afraid of acquiring COVID-19 infection and similar percentage of individuals due to unavailability of products. But around 41% participants increased their tobacco usage in COVID -19 pandemic. Tobacco habits during COVID19 pandemic shows signicant association with socio-economic status of consumer, current tobacco habits and plan to quit tobacco use. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic offered a singular chance to minimize and discontinue tobacco use among tobacco users, and lockdown-experiences might strengthen control behaviors among users on a national and international level. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there may have been a decline in tobacco use due to several factors, including fear of contracting the virus and product scarcity as a result of lockdown.