Evaluating the Causal Effect of COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Orders on Combustible Tobacco Use

Those with mental health conditions smoke tobacco at rates far exceeding the national average. In 2020, there were concerns about the impact of COVID-19 "lockdown" policies on mental health and substance use. Using the pandemic as a natural experiment, we assessed the causal effect of Stay-at-Home (SAH) orders on the prevalence of smoking among those with and without mental health impairment (MHI).

Using pooled data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a repeat cross-sectional survey from 2014 to 2022 (N = 3 414 287), we employed a difference-in-differences methodology, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment.

Among persons with MHI exposed to a SAH order, there was a 0.031 (95% CI = -0.052, -0.010) and a 0.028 (95% CI = -0.042, -0.014) decrease in the probability of current smoking after an advisory and mandate respectively, compared to those in states that never implemented a SAH order. After orders were relaxed, SAH mandates resulted in sustained decreases in the probability of smoking among those with MHI through 2022. There was no evidence of these changes in the post-SAH advisory period of 2020 among those with MHI, but changes were observed in 2021 and 2022. Among those without MHI, there was no evidence of a change in cigarette smoking during SAH orders, though orders resulted in a small decline in the post-SAH periods of 2020 and 2021, but not 2022.

There was a differential effect of SAH orders on smoking by mental health status, with sustained declines among those with MHI.

This study adds to the literature on the impacts of population-level stressors on smoking behaviors. In the United States, COVID-19 Stay-At-Home orders only resulted in a decline in the prevalence of smoking among those with poor mental health. The prevalence of tobacco use among those with mental health conditions has remained elevated compared to the general population, suggesting this reduction is significant for public health interventions. Understanding how this vulnerable population changed its smoking behavior due to the pandemic may inform future interventions aimed at reducing tobacco use among those with poor mental health.