Relationships between Smoking Rate and COVID-19 Death Rate when Both Variables are Subject to Errors: Arab World Case Study

Abstract

While there is a growing body of research on the relationship between smoking and COVID-19 outcomes, there is a lack of comprehensive stud- ies focusing specifically on the Arab world. Understanding the potential impact of smoking on COVID-19 death rates in this region is crucial for in- forming public health interventions and policies. This article discusses the relationship between the smoking rate and the COVID-19 death rate in the Arab world. The data was gathered from the World Health Organization (WHO) records. The measurement error model (MEM) is used to study the relationship between smoking rate and COVID-19, considering the er- rors in both variables. Different estimation methods including the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), Wald-type methods, and repeated median es- timation methods, were used to fit the MEM model to the data. The results showed that Jordan and Lebanon, respectively, had the highest smoking rates while Yemen, Egypt, and Algeria, respectively, had the highest COVID-19 death within the Arab countries. Fitting the data to MEM, the data analysis showed that Smoking has a positive effect on COVID-19.