Did COVID-19 stress, uncertainty stall anti-smoking push?

A year after COVID-19 upended life for millions of Americans, there are troubling signs that the coronavirus may have also slowed progress against another deadly health threat: smoking.

Fewer smokers called quitsmoking hotlines last year and some smoked more, contributing to an unusual bump in cigarette sales — all in the middle of the stress, anxiety and uncertainty from the pandemic.

“It’s hard for folks to quit using tobacco in the best of times, so what happens when life is suddenly turned upside down?” said Jen Cash, who oversees Minnesota’s antitobacco programs.

Researchers are already concerned about COVID-19’s impact on cancer screenings and opioid overdoses as many Americans were cut off from routine care and examinations. But services to help smokers quit -- delivered via phone and online -- would seem wellpositioned to withstand the disruptions of the pandemic. The programs help with devising a plan and often provide free nicotine gums and patches.

Yet, calls to states routed through a national hotline fell 27 percent last year to about 500,000 — the biggest drop in a decade, according to the North American Quitline Consortium. In a recent report, the coalition of anti-smoking counselors cited the pandemic and the drop in public awareness messaging.

In a separate survey of 1,000 adult smokers, Rigotti and her colleagues found about a third reported smoking more during the first six months of the pandemic.