Associate Professor Phong Thai and Dr Ben Tscharke from UQ's Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences featured in an In Queensland article about Australians’ nicotine consumption increasing during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lead researcher Dr Phong Thai theorised people could have been smoking more to manage higher stress levels or taking up greater opportunities to smoke or vape while working from home.
Dr Ben Tscharke added people could resort to activities like smoking to alleviate anxiety when under extreme stress.
“The introduction of lockdowns, social distancing, isolation and the general uncertainty about the danger of Covid-19 placed significant stress on people,” Tscharke said.
This article was republished from AAP.
