The percentage of people who reported stopping smoking more than
doubled after the Covid-19 lockdown was implemented in March,
according to a new study by UCL researchers.
The research also found that high-risk drinking
increased after lockdown despite the proportion of adults trying
to reduce their alcohol intake being twice as high as before
lockdown.
The study, published today in Addiction,
analysed data from the Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Studies, a
series of monthly surveys of adults in England, to see how
people’s smoking, drinking and quitting behaviour changed from
before the March lockdown to after lockdown was
implemented.
Data was collected between April 2019 and February
2020 and then in April 2020. 1,717 people participated per month
on average before lockdown and 1,674 participated in April
2020.
The results showed that the rate of quit attempts
(any serious attempt to stop smoking in the past year) among
smokers increased from 29.1% before lockdown to 39.6% in April
2020. Smoking cessation (people reporting to have quit in the
past year) more than doubled from 4.1% before lockdown to 8.8% in
April 2020. Additionally, smokers were no less likely to use some
form of cessation support than before lockdown, with increased
uptake of remote support such as quit lines, websites, and
apps.
Dr Sarah Jackson (UCL Behavioural Science and
Health), lead author, said: “The fact we saw rates of quit
attempts and cessation increase after the start of lockdown is
encouraging.
“It may be that the pandemic has made people more
concerned about the effects of smoking on their respiratory
health. Stopping smoking brings immediate benefits to health,
including for people with an existing smoking-related disease.
Now is a fantastic opportunity to join the hundreds of thousands
of other people quitting in England. Quitting may also have the
added benefit of reducing demands on our NHS during these
difficult times.”
The prevalence of high-risk drinking was
significantly higher after lockdown at 38.3% 2020 compared to the
average of 25.1% before the lockdown. High-risk drinking was
defined as a score of five or more on the AUDIT-C – a screening
tool used by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The study also showed use of evidence-based support
for alcohol reduction by high-risk drinkers has decreased with no
compensatory increase in use of remote support.
Professor Jamie Brown (UCL Behavioural Science and
Health) added: “The observed increase in high-risk drinking is a
serious cause for concern and requires a public health response.
The recent Commission on Alcohol Harm recommended investment in
services and measures to reduce affordability.
“These findings also have a possible implication for
the pandemic: excessive alcohol consumption may reduce vigilance
around social distancing and adherence to other protective
behaviours.”
The authors note that a limitation of the study is
only having one wave of post-lockdown data collected to date, and
that this study provides a simple assessment of changes in the
prevalence of key indicators of smoking and alcohol use. They
hope to be able to provide further analysis as more data becomes
available. Also, there is uncertainty because the survey had to
switch from face-to-face to telephone interviews due to the
pandemic. However, analyses suggest that it is reasonable to
compare data from before and after the lockdown, despite the
change in method.
Data collection for the Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit
Studies is supported by Cancer Research UK.
The authors are currently looking for smokers who
want to quit to take part in a new, large study. For details
visit www.uclsmokingstudy.co.uk.
