Highlights

Abstract

Keywords

۱٫ Smoking cessation treatment barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic

۲٫ Social media and smoking cessation

۳٫ Future directions in implementing and evaluating social media-based interventions

۴٫ Conclusions and recommendations

Funding

References

Abstract

This commentary reviews barriers to smoking cessation during the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential of social media-based smoking cessation programs. Several published randomized controlled trials are summarized and future directions for designing and evaluating social media-based smoking cessation programs are described.

۱٫ Smoking cessation treatment barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 has brought the impact of cigarette smoking on health to even greater public awareness. Concerns about respiratory health have motivated many attempts to quit smoking (Elling et al., 2020; Grogan et al., 2020; Klemperer et al., 2020) and the role of cigarette smoking in COVID-19 severity continues to be debated (J et al., 2020; van Zyl-Smit et al., 2020). However, societal responses to the pandemic and changes in healthcare access (e.g., loss of insurance coverage, fewer office visits, overburdened providers) compound existing barriers to smoking cessation treatment.

In considering these difficulties, the social ecological model (McLeroy et al., 1988) is a useful framework. At the individual level, people are experiencing greater stress and boredom during the pandemic, which are key triggers for smoking (American Psychiatric Association, 2020; Grogan et al., 2020). Individuals attempting smoking cessation describe numerous potential obstacles, including lack of access to previous coping strategies (e.g., going to the gym, visiting family and friends) (Rosoff-Verbit et al., 2021). At the interpersonal/relational level, conflict at home and living with other smokers contributes to continued smoking (Meacham et al., 2013). At the community/organizational level, people may have less access to school- and workplace-based smoking cessation programs. Moreover, loss of employment in the United States usually results in lost access to health insurance (Panchal et al., 2020). At the policy level, public health departments face budget shortfalls, potentially scaling back smoking cessation resources. These challenges are likely to negatively impact the use of evidence-based smoking cessation treatments during the pandemic, including behavioral counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and prescription medications.