Authors: Bassam Yousef Ibrahim Banat, Bilal Zahaikah, Ahmad Wahsh, Ahmad Hasanin, Ahmad Skafi, Bilal Wahwah, Salih Awawdeh, Majd Araj, Nermeen Suliman, Hadeel Sharawi, & Yazeed Joudi
The study aims at investigating smokers’ behaviour in the Palestinian society due to COVID-19 pandemic. The study approached the literature as a multi-dimensional phenomenon, which addressed both theoretical and applied research. The significance of this recent study is the first, which dealt with this theme, to the author knowledge, which in turn encourages other researchers to work on further research on this important issue. The study adopted the quantitative research approach using the sampling survey method. The questionnaire is appropriate for the exploratory nature of the research. An index of a 15-item scale was used to measure the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on smokers' behaviour in the Palestinian society that was developed by the research team, and was administrated to five hundred smokers in the West Bank during 2021 purposively selected. The collected data was statistically analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). The findings demonstrate that COVID-19 pandemic is a double-edged sword, half of the sample reported that COVID-19 is a great opportunity to quit smoking and were thinking seriously about quitting smoking. Although, most of the sample reported maintained smoking behaviour,23.6% of the sample reported decreased smoking rates, while 10.8% of the sample reported increased smoking rates. Findings showed that gender, work status, marital status, place of residency, qualification, age, and degree of religiosity do not show any significant differences. However, it was found that corona virus infection was significant variable.
Keywords: Smokers’ behaviour, COVID-19, pandemic, Palestine.
Bassam Yousef Ibrahim Banat, PhD. Sociology (Statistical Methods and Research Techniques), Associate Professor, Department of Applied Sociology, Faculty of Arts, Al-Quds University, Main Campus, Jerusalem- Abu Dies, Palestine. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bilal Zahaikah, Ahmad Wahsh, Ahmad Hasanin, Ahmad Skafi, Bilal Wahwah, Salih Awawdeh, Majd Araj, Nermeen Suliman, Hadeel Sharawi, & Yazeed Joudi, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Professions, Al-Quds University, Main Campus, Jerusalem- Abu Dies, Palestine.
