I worry that emphasizing this finding now will further stigmatize smokers and vapers, and increase their anxiety (and the anxiety of those who love them) pointlessly during what is already a scary time. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/health/coronavirus-smoking-vaping-risks.html

Quitting is incredibly hard. Most people trying to quit cigarettes make numerous quit attempts before they succeed, usually spanning years. Experts suggest people plan their quit in advance, because those who do are more likely to succeed.

The hard reality of quitting is that most people won't be able to stop smoking or vaping immediately in response to this information. Especially not in this stressful time.

Might fear induce people to quit? Probably not. One thing we know from the scientific literature on fear and behavior change is that if people don't know how to avoid the feared outcome, they dismiss the message altogether.

Do we know that quitting this week reduces risk associated with COVID-19 next week? Do we know how to avoid the feared outcome?

To be clear, I think research on this topic is important. What I'm questioning is whether highlighting it now helps, or if it just contributes more fear to an already overwhelming time, and leads to more judgement for smokers and vapers.