Impact of mandatory masking amid the COVID-19 pandemic on outdoor smoking: an interrupted time-series analysis of a 33-month unobtrusive observational study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mask-wearing in outdoor public places in Hong Kong was mandated on 29 July 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to evaluate the impact of mandatory masking with no exemption for smoking on outdoor smoking.

Methods

We conducted 253 unobtrusive observations at 10 outdoor smoking hotspots in 33 months from July 2019 to March 2022 and counted smokers and non-smoking pedestrians in fixed boundaries. We conducted interrupted time-series analyses on the monthly mean volume of smokers (persons per hour) using generalized linear models. The independent variables were as follows: time since the first observation, implementation of the mask regulation, time since the regulation, seasonality, and waves 1-5 outbreaks. We checked the robustness of the association using th

SUBMITTER: Sun Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10372439 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature