Dataset Information

Exploring Factors Contributing to the Smoking Behaviour among Hong Kong Chinese Young Smokers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

ABSTRACT: COVID-19 has significant impacts on young smokers in their smoking behaviors. This qualitative study summarises the lived experience of young smokers during COVID-19. Moreover, through their lived experience, we aim to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic influence tobacco use behaviours in this population. A purposive sampling of 48 smokers aged between 17-25 years old is individually interviewed for 30 to 45 min. All interviews are transcribed in verbatim and analysed by two researchers separately using Colaizzi's method of descriptive phenomenology. The results reveal the following six important themes, which could explain the mixed pattern of smoking behaviour changes in young smokers: (1) perceptions of COVID-19 and its association with smoking, (2) more time at home, (3) taking masks off to smoke, (4) the effects of COVID-19 on smokers' financial status and academic performance, (5) reduced social gatherings, and (6) restricted access to tobacco products. To conclude, this pandemic and the anti-pandemic measures, i.e., mask mandates, stay-at-home and work-from-home orders, and class suspension, result in both new obstacles and new advantages for smoking cessation among young people. More studies should be performed to monitor any transition of tobacco products and the trajectory of use in this population during this pandemic, thus informing public health policy making.

SUBMITTER: Lam KK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8998443 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Exploring Factors Contributing to the Smoking Behaviour among Hong Kong Chinese Young Smokers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Lam Katherine-Ka-Wai KK Ho Ka-Yan KY Wu Cynthia-Sau-Ting CS Tong Man-Nok MN Tang Lai-Ngo LN Mak Yim-Wah YW

International journal of environmental research and public health 20220331 7

COVID-19 has significant impacts on young smokers in their smoking behaviors. This qualitative study summarises the lived experience of young smokers during COVID-19. Moreover, through their lived experience, we aim to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic influence tobacco use behaviours in this population. A purposive sampling of 48 smokers aged between 17-25 years old is individually interviewed for 30 to 45 min. All interviews are transcribed in verbatim and analysed by two researchers separa ...[more]

PMID: 35409831

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundDespite compelling evidence demonstrating the negative impact of poverty and income disparity on children's psychological well-being, there has been a lack of qualitative information which addresses its contributing factors. This study aimed to shed light on this area by comparing the experiences toward daily life between children living in low- and high-income families.MethodsA qualitative study using a phenomenological approach was conducted from May 2012 to January 2013. A random sample of 42 children aged 10-13, with 25 from low- and 17 from high-income families were asked to voluntarily response to a demographic sheet and undergo individual semi-structured interviews which lasted about 25-30 min. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Approval for the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the University of Hong Kong/Hospital Authority Hong Kong West Cluster (reference UW 12-237).ResultsThe findings of this study revealed that the living environment, physical health, social life and ability to function at school of children from low-income families are severely impaired.ConclusionsIt fills a gap in the literature by showing how poverty and income disparity affect the daily lives of children from low-income families on different levels. Also, adopting a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits are possible factors mediating the effects of poverty and income disparity on the psychological well-being of children from low-income families. It is vital for healthcare professionals going beyond their normal roles to give advice on healthy lifestyles and behaviors by building multidisciplinary partnerships with schools and the community. Additionally, healthcare professionals should also target on these two possible factors to develop and implement appropriate interventions for promoting the psychological well-being among children living in poverty. Trial registration NCT02877719. 19 August 2016 retrospectively registered.

Project description:IntroductionNever smokers' responses to tobacco control policy are often overshadowed by the opposition from smokers and tobacco industry during policy advocacy and legislation. Very few studies have examined never smokers' exposure to point-of-sale (POS) tobacco displays and their effects. Therefore, we investigated the exposure, pro-smoking responses due to and attitudes towards such displays in never smokers in Hong Kong.MethodsWe conducted two-stage, randomized cross-sectional telephone-based surveys in 2015 and 2016 of 1833 never-smoking adults. They were asked how often they noticed POS displays in the past 30 days (often, sometimes, never), whether they found POS displays attractive, felt encouraged to smoke, perceived POS displays as advertisements, and if they supported banning them. The distributions of the outcomes were analyzed by descriptive statistics with weighting to the general population. Risk ratios (RR) from Poisson regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics were used to analyze the associations.ResultsOur results showed that, in never smokers, the younger were more likely to often notice POS displays (RR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.72-0.89, p<0.01). Finding POS displays attractive was associated with primary (RR=2.52, 95% CI: 1.51-4.22, p<0.01) and secondary education (RR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.16- 2.44, p=0.01) versus tertiary education. Often noticing displays was associated with perceived attractiveness (RR=1.90, 95% CI: 1.32-2.75, p<0.01). The positive association between often noticing displays and being encouraged to smoke was marginally significant (RR=4.05, 95% CI: 0.98-16.85, p=0.054). Respondents who often noticed POS displays (RR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.77-0.98, p=0.02) and did not perceive them as advertisements (RR=0.70, 95% CI: 0.61-0.98, p<0.01) showed less support on banning them than those who did not notice them.ConclusionsFrequent exposure to POS displays was associated with greater perceived attractiveness and lower support for banning them. A total ban on POS displays is needed to eliminate the advertising and normalization effect of POS displays.

Dataset Information

Exploring Factors Contributing to the Smoking Behaviour among Hong Kong Chinese Young Smokers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Publications

Exploring Factors Contributing to the Smoking Behaviour among Hong Kong Chinese Young Smokers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets