Americans bought more cigarettes during the COVID-19 pandemic than they had in previous years, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the American Cancer Society analyzed data from tobacco companies and found that cigarette sales were 14 percent higher after March 2020 than predictions from a model based on data from the previous decade.
This 14 percent increase in sales translated to 0.34 additional packs a day for each American adult, the team said.
Cigarette sales had been in a long-term decline prior to the pandemic - but Covid has appeared to put a pause on this downward trend.
Some adults may be inclined to take up or increase smoking due to stress and other mental health impacts of the pandemic. Unfortunately, this behavior confers increased risk of severe Covid.
Cigarette sales were about 14% higher in 2020 and early 2021 than they would have been if the pandemic hadn't occurred, a new analysis finds. Pictured: A woman smokes a cigarette in Liverpool, Britain, May 2020
The Covid pandemic was a stressful time for many Americans.
In early months of spring 2020 when much of the country went into lockdown, researchers have found increased rates of mental health issues and drug use.
These issues have persisted throughout the past year and a half.
For example, a Kaiser Family Foundation study found that 41 percent of American adults reported symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder in January 2021 compared to just 11 percent in 2019.
A new study indicates that smoking may have increased during the Covid pandemic as well.
Scientists at the American Cancer Society used federal data on cigarette sales to examine the pandemic's impact.
Their study was published Tuesday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.
The researchers analyzed monthly filings from major tobacco companies, obtained from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
They calculated aggregate cigarette sales for each month from January 2007 to June 2021.
Using these monthly figures, the
