The effect of COVID-19 fear on smoking habits during the pandemic process

The rapid spread of the COVID-19 infection and the fact that it affected many people in a short time increased the anxiety and worries of the society. The stress and fear experienced by the society during the pandemic process; affected the smoking habits and perspective on smoking. The aim of this study; to determine the effect of fear of COVID-19 on smoking habits during the pandemic process. The research was created digitally via Google Forms; It was made with a total of 536 people through the online questionnaire form, via WhatsApp, Instagram as a link, and by creating and sharing a QR code, as well as conducting fieldwork between November 2021 and March 2022. "Data Collection Form on the Descriptive Characteristics of the Participants", "The COVID-19 Fear Scale", and "The Data Collection Form on the Smoking Habits of the Participants" were used to collect the data. SPSS 22.0 program was used to evaluate the data. Sixty five point seven percent the participants are women and 44.6% are between the ages of 18-24. While 40.9% of the participants stated that they have never smoked in their life, the rate of those who still smoke is 34.3%, and the rate of those who quit smoking is 6.9%. The majority of smokers (62.7%) stated that the pandemic period did not affect their smoking habit positively or negatively, while 30.8% stated that they increased the rate of daily cigarettes they smoked during the quarantine period. Twenty five percent of the participants stated that their exposure to passive cigarette smoke increased during the pandemic process, 79.5% of the participants think that smoking will increase the risk of contracting COVID-19 infection, hospitalization in intensive care and death due to COVID-19. Participants experience fear below the moderate level (15.34±5.35) according to the mean score of the COVID-19 Fear Scale. It was determined that the fear of COVID-19 was statistically significantly higher in women, individuals aged 18-24, those living in villages/towns and those who had never smoked (p<0.05). It can be said that the participants' cigarette addiction, active and passive exposure to cigarette smoke are determinants of their greater concern about COVID-19 infection. Our study showed that groups that increased their cigarette consumption during the pandemic process were at a greater rate than those who decreased or quit. It is necessary to establish strategies for tobacco control during the pandemic period, to raise awareness of the public about the effects of smoking in terms of COVID-19 infection, and to support smokers in quitting smoking.