# Association Between SARS-CoV-2–Related Experiences and Smoking Cessation in Switzerland: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

## TL;DR

This study found that people in Switzerland who got tested for SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic were more likely to quit smoking, suggesting a potential opportunity for public health interventions.

## Contribution

This is the first study to examine smoking cessation in Switzerland during the early pandemic period, focusing on SARS-CoV-2-related experiences.

## Key findings

- Only a small proportion of participants (0.5% and 1.5%) reported quitting smoking during the pandemic.
- Smokers who underwent SARS-CoV-2 testing showed a trend toward quitting, but no significant association was found with positive tests or symptoms.
- The study suggests that the pandemic may offer a window for promoting smoking cessation among health-conscious individuals.

## Abstract

Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue?
Smoking remains a major global public health burden, causing over 8 million deaths worldwide each year.The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced various health-related behaviors, including smoking, creating a timely context for this study.

Smoking remains a major global public health burden, causing over 8 million deaths worldwide each year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced various health-related behaviors, including smoking, creating a timely context for this study.

Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health?
Understanding the determinants of smoking cessation is essential to leverage every opportunity to promote cessation.This is the only study to specifically explore changes in tobacco-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic—from the first wave to the period prior to the launch of large-scale vaccination—in Switzerland.

Understanding the determinants of smoking cessation is essential to leverage every opportunity to promote cessation.

This is the only study to specifically explore changes in tobacco-related behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic—from the first wave to the period prior to the launch of large-scale vaccination—in Switzerland.

Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health?
Individuals seeking SARS-CoV-2 testing may be more health-conscious, which could contribute to smoking cessation.Pandemics may represent critical windows of opportunity for smoking cessation interventions that should be actively leveraged by healthcare professionals, especially general practitioners, and by public health authorities, through clear and tailored messages.

Individuals seeking SARS-CoV-2 testing may be more health-conscious, which could contribute to smoking cessation.

Pandemics may represent critical windows of opportunity for smoking cessation interventions that should be actively leveraged by healthcare professionals, especially general practitioners, and by public health authorities, through clear and tailored messages.

The COVID 19 pandemic may have influenced smoking behaviours, including decisions to quit smoking. This study aimed to investigate smoking cessation following the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland and to assess whether cessation differed according to participants’ SARS-CoV-2–related experiences. Data from SérocoViD, a Swiss repeated cross-sectional study comprising five surveys in the canton of Vaud, was used. A total of 2454 participants aged 15 years and older from the first (May–July 2020) and third (February 2021) surveys were included. Association between SARS-CoV-2 infection experiences and cigarette smoking cessation were analyzed using logistic regression; both factors were unadjusted and adjusted for age and gender. Overall, 21.2% of participants reported being ex-smokers, but only a small proportion of the entire study population (i.e., including both smokers and non-smokers) reported quitting during the pandemic (0.5% in the first sample, 1.5% in the second). Participants who were smokers before the pandemic and had undergone diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 showed a trend toward smoking cessation during the pandemic (non-adjusted odds ratio = 2.15; 95% confidence interval: 0.79–5.87). No such trends were found with a positive diagnostic test or serological result, or with COVID-19-like symptoms. These findings suggest that individuals seeking testing may be more health-conscious, potentially contributing to smoking cessation. For these individuals, the pandemic may represent a critical opportunity to promote smoking cessation, which should be leveraged by healthcare professionals and public health policies.