Smokers are worried. A respiratory disease is running rampant across the globe and people with unhealthy lifestyle habits appear to be especially vulnerable.
We know smokers hospitalised with Covid-19 are more likely to become severely unwell and die than non-smokers with the disease.
At any point in time, most smokers want to quit. But Covid-19 provides the impetus to do it sooner rather than later.
In our new study, we surveyed 1,204 adult smokers across Australia and the United Kingdom. We found the proportion intending to quit within the next two weeks almost tripled from around 10% of smokers before Covid-19 to 29% in April.
Many more were thinking about quitting some time soon, and most wanted help to do so.
Our research shows many people who smoke understand they can reduce their Covid-19 related risk by addressing their smoking. Given this, and the broader health gains…