Table 1.
Characteristics of the study population based on smoking status (n = 944)
| Study characteristics | Never smokers | Waterpipe smokers | Cigarette smokers | DualΨ | Ex-smokers | P value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 511 (54.1%) | 89 (9.4%) | 158 (16.7%) | 14 (1.5%) | 172 (18.2%) | |
| Mean age ± SD (years) | 35.3 ± 10.8 | 35.1 ± 9.6 | 38.3 ± 10.4 | 33.7 ± 10.7 | 35.9 ± 12.0 | .042 |
| Gender | ||||||
| Male | 260 (50.9%) | 62 (69.7%) | 140 (88.6%) | 12 (85.7%) | 127 (73.8%) | < .001 |
| Female | 251 (49.1%) | 27 (30.3%) | 18 (11.4%) | 2 (14.3%) | 45 (26.2%) | |
| Education | ||||||
| ≤ High school | 93 (18.2%) | 31 (34.8%) | 52 (32.9%) | 5 (35.7%) | 46 (26.7%) | < .001 |
| > High school | 418 (81.8%) | 58 (65.2%) | 106 (67.1%) | 9 (64.3%) | 126 (73.3%) | |
| Residential area | ||||||
| Urban | 480 (93.9%) | 72 (80.9%) | 142 (89.9%) | 14 (100.0%) | 149 (86.6%) | < .001 |
| Nonurban/rural | 31 (6.1%) | 17 (19.1%) | 16 (10.1%) | 0 (0.0%) | 23 (13.4%) | |
| Has a doctor told you that you have COVID-19? (yes) | 17 (3.3%) | 4 (4.5%) | 2 (1.3%) | 2 (14.3%) | 3 (1.7%) | .046 |
| Is anyone in your family infected with COVID-19? (yes) | 30 (5.9%) | 7 (7.9%) | 7 (4.4%) | 3 (21.4%) | 10 (5.8%) | .129 |
| In your opinion, how related is cigarette smoking to spreading infection of COVID-19? | ||||||
| Not related/ I do not know¥ | 331 (64.8%) | 76 (85.4%) | 135 (85.4%) | 14 (100.0%) | 122 (70.9%) | < .001 |
| Related | 180 (35.2%) | 13 (14.6%) | 23 (14.6%) | 0 (0.0%) | 50 (29.1%) | |
| In your opinion, how related is waterpipe smoking with spreading infection of COVID-19? | ||||||
| Not related/I do not know¥ | 233 (45.6%) | 55 (61.8%) | 91 (57.6%) | 13 (92.9%) | 87 (50.6%) | |
| Related | 278 (54.4%) | 34 (38.2%) | 67 (42.4%) | 1 (7.1%) | 85 (49.4%) | |
| In your opinion, how related is e-cigarette use with spreading infection of COVID-19? | ||||||
| Not related/ I do not know¥ | 397 (77.7%) | 86 (96.6%) | 143 (90.5%) | 13 (92.9%) | 145 (84.3%) | |
| Related | 114 (22.3%) | 3 (3.4%) | 15 (9.5%) | 1 (7.1%) | 27 (15.7%) | |
| In your opinion, how safe is it to use cigarettes at home during the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Not safe | 281 (55.0%) | 53 (59.6%) | 60 (38.0%) | 4 (28.6%) | 95 (55.2%) | < .001 |
| Safe | 85 (16.6%) | 20 (22.5%) | 48 (30.4%) | 6 (42.9%) | 32 (18.6%) | |
| I do not know | 145 (28.4%) | 16 (18.0%) | 50 (31.6%) | 4 (28.6%) | 45 (26.2%) | |
| In your opinion, how safe is it to use waterpipe at home during the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Not safe | 316 (61.8%) | 38 (42.7%) | 68 (43.0%) | 4 (28.6%) | 101 (58.7%) | < .001 |
| Safe | 87 (17.0%) | 42 (47.2%) | 33 (20.9%) | 5 (35.7%) | 30 (17.4%) | |
| I do not know | 108 (21.1%) | 9 (10.1%) | 57 (36.1%) | 5 (35.7%) | 41 (23.8%) | |
| In your opinion, how safe is it to use e-cigarettes at home during the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Not safe | 232 (45.4%) | 34 (38.2%) | 44 (27.8%) | 2 (14.3%) | 65 (37.8%) | < .001 |
| Safe | 75 (14.7%) | 13 (14.6%) | 32 (20.3%) | 5 (35.7%) | 28 (16.3%) | |
| I do not know | 204 (39.9%) | 42(47.2%) | 82 (51.9%) | 7 (50.0%) | 79 (45.9%) | |
| In your opinion, how safe is it to use cigarettes in public during the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Not safe | 371 (72.6%) | 39(43.8%) | 81(51.3%) | 10 (71.4%) | 124 (72.1%) | < .001 |
| Safe | 40 (7.8%) | 34 (38.2%) | 39 (24.7%) | 0 (0.0%) | 13 (7.6%) | |
| I do not know | 100 (19.6%) | 16 (18.0%) | 38 (24.1%) | 4 (28.6%) | 35 (20.3%) | |
| In your opinion, how safe is it to use waterpipe in public during the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Not safe | 402 (78.7%) | 56 (63.6%) | 93 (58.9%) | 7 (50.0%) | 139 (80.8%) | < .001 |
| Safe | 21 (4.1%) | 23 (26.1%) | 17 (10.8%) | 1 (7.1%) | 7 (4.1%) | |
| I do not know | 88 (17.2%) | 9 (10.2%) | 48 (30.4%) | 6 (42.9%) | 26 (15.1%) | |
| In your opinion, how safe is it to use e-cigarettes in public during the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Not safe | 317 (62.0%) | 34 (38.2%) | 59 (37.3%) | 4 (28.6%) | 112 (65.1%) | < .001 |
| Safe | 31 (6.1%) | 28 (31.5%) | 29 (18.4%) | 2 (14.3%) | 12 (7.0%) | |
| I do not know | 163 (31.9%) | 27 (30.3%) | 70 (44.3%) | 8 (57.1%) | 48 (27.9%) | |
| In your opinion, how much safer are e-cigarettes as a substitute to any form of smoking during the COVID-19 pandemic? | ||||||
| Not safe/I do not know¥ | 499 (97.7%) | 87 (97.8%) | 150 (94.9%) | 12 (85.7%) | 169 (98.3%) | .030 |
| Safe | 12 (2.3%) | 2 (2.2%) | 8 (5.1%) | 2 (14.3%) | 3 (1.7%) | |
| In your opinion, what will be the outcome of a cigarette smoker who is infected by COVID-19? | ||||||
| Similar to non-smokers | 97 (19.0%) | 27 (30.3%) | 47 (29.7%) | 7(50.0%) | 34 (19.8%) | < .001 |
| Recover soon | 13 (2.5%) | 14 (15.7%) | 9 (5.7%) | 1 (7.1%) | 2 (1.2%) | |
| Worsen the disease | 401 (78.5%) | 48 (53.9%) | 102 (64.6%) | 6 (42.9%) | 136 (79.1%) | |
| In your opinion, what will be the outcome of a hookah smoker who is infected by COVID-19? | ||||||
| Similar to non-smokers | 96 (18.8%) | 24 (27.0%) | 52 (32.9%) | 8 (57.1%) | 32 (18.6%) | < .001 |
| Recover soon | 8 (1.6%) | 18 (20.2%) | 4 (2.5%) | 1 (7.1%) | 2 (1.2%) | |
| Worsen the disease | 407 (79.6%) | 47 (52.8%) | 102 (64.6%) | 5 (35.7%) | 138 (80.2%) | |
| In your opinion, what will be the outcome of an e-cigarette user who is infected by COVID-19? | ||||||
| Similar to non-smokers | 225 (44.0%) | 60 (67.4%) | 102 (64.6%) | 9 (64.3%) | 80 (46.5%) | < .001 |
| Recover soon | 8 (1.6%) | 4 (4.5%) | 3 (1.9%) | 1 (7.1%) | 4 (2.3%) | |
| Worsen the disease | 278 (54.4%) | 25 (28.1%) | 53 (33.5%) | 4 (28.6%) | 88 (51.2%) | |
| Does using tobacco products protect an individual against COVID-19? | ||||||
| Not only is not protective, but also can cause disease | 387 (75.7%) | 49 (55.1%) | 101 (63.9%) | 8 (57.1%) | 136 (79.1%) | < .001 |
| Yes, have a protective effect | 21 (4.1%) | 23 (25.8%) | 14 (8.9%) | 4 (28.6%) | 9 (5.2%) | |
| I do not know | 103 (20.2%) | 17 (19.1%) | 43 (27.2%) | 2 (14.3%) | 27 (15.7%) | |
*Note: due to very low total number of participants answered “I don’t know” to these questions, we combined this response option with not related/safe. Ψ Dual use of waterpipe and cigarette smokers. *P-values are based on chi-squared test.