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

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.

Cigarettes, heated tobacco products and dual use: exhaled carbon monoxide, saliva cotinine and total tobacco consumed by Hong Kong tobacco users.

Background: Independent studies on exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) and saliva cotinine levels in regular heated tobacco product (HTP) users, and how they compare with conventional cigarette (CC) smokers, are lacking.

Methods: A total of 3294 current users of CCs, HTPs or electronic cigarettes (ECs) from a household survey and a smoking hotspot survey were classified into seven groups: exclusive users of CCs, HTPs, ECs; dual users of CCs and HTPs, CCs and ECs, HTPs and ECs; and triple users. We measured exhaled CO level using the piCo Smokerlyzer (n=780) and saliva cotinine using NicAlert cotinine test strips (n=620).

Changes in Tobacco Use in the Early Phase of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic in Hong Kong: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Changes in tobacco use and related personal and environmental factors amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic can be captured by qualitative studies, but they are few in non-Western populations.

Aims And Methods: We assessed the perceived links between tobacco use and COVID-19, and changes in the use of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (ECs), and heated tobacco products (HTPs) in the early phase of the pandemic in Hong Kong, where lockdown was not implemented. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted from January to June 2021 in 95 participants (36 EC users, 28 HTP users, and 32 exclusive cigarette users).

Changes in tobacco use at the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic: Results of four cross-sectional surveys in Hong Kong.

Introduction: Changes in tobacco use since the COVID-19 outbreak differed by countries and little is known about changes in the use of specific tobacco products.

Methods: We analyzed data from four cross-sectional telephone/online surveys from April to June 2020 to investigate such changes since the 1st and 2nd wave outbreaks (February to April 2020) in Hong Kong. The respondents were 1595 adults (83.