The role of fear of COVID-19 in motivation to quit smoking and reductions in cigarette smoking: a preliminary investigation of at-risk cigarette smokers.

The role of fear of COVID-19 in motivation to quit smoking and reductions in cigarette smoking: a preliminary investigation of at-risk cigarette smokers. Cogn Behav Ther. 2021 Feb 19;:1-10 Authors: Gold AK, Hoyt DL, Milligan M, Hiserodt ML, Samora J, Leyro TM, Zvolensky MJ, Otto MW Abstract Preliminary data suggest that cigarette smokers could have an increased mortality risk from the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), and that certain factors (e.g., increased age, medical comorbidities) can also increase risk of poor coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outcomes. Between April 30th, 2020 and May 28th, 2020, we evaluated self-reported changes in recent smoking patterns and motivation to quit smoking among current daily cigarette smokers (N = 103) on Amazon Mechanical Turk. We also assessed the relationship of these outcomes to age, medical comorbidity status, and fear of COVID-19. Most participants (68.9%) reported smoking less frequently than usual in the last 28 days. Among daily smokers, increased fear of COVID-19 predicted increased motivation to quit smoking and actual smoking reductions (ps < .05). Endorsement of one or more medical comorbidities, but not increased age, predicted increased motivation to quit smoking (p < .05). These data suggest the potentially greater relevance of psychological factors (e.g., fear of COVID-19) over external risk factors (e.g., medical comorbidity, increased age) on motivation to quit smoking a...
Source: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Cogn Behav Ther Source Type: research