COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS AND TOBACCO USE AMONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN DHAKA, BANGLADESH

Abstract

The current study was aimed to investigate the changes in tobacco usage and their correlations among students from a private university in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during the lockdown periods due to the COVID19 pandemic. It is designed as a cross-sectional study in which 572 students participated, among which 207 were smokers, in a self-administered online survey on Google Classrooms through Google forms. The socioeconomic characteristics of the participants, COVID-19, and tobacco use-related information were collected using a close-ended questionnaire. Participating students were asked if their tobacco consumption had changed during the COVID-19 lockdowns compared to before the pandemic. Among the smokers, 31.9% stated an increase in tobacco use in the extended lockdown periods imposed by the authorities to contain coronavirus infection and the rest had no change in such behavior. Tobacco intake in the form of cigarette smoking was substantially increased among the participants who thought the lockdown period was more stressful than preCOVID times (aOR = 5.767, 95% CI: 2.5-13.26, p < 0.001), participants whose caffeine intake increased (aOR = 3.524, 95% CI: 1.70-7.29, p < 0.002), participants who attended any social events during lockdowns (aOR = 2.720, 95% CI: 1.26-5.86, p p<0.012) and those who reported it was difcult to procure cigarettes during the lockdown periods (aOR = 2.932, 95% CI: 1.36- 6.32, p < 0.007). This study explored that stressful condition due to extended lockdowns, higher caffeine intake, and difculty in getting cigarettes were signicant elements for increased tobacco use among the selected students.