Smoking and COVID-19

It is generally known that smoking is a significant risk factor for the development of many respiratory system diseases, so the question logically arises - is there and what is the health impact of tobacco consumption during the current COVID-19 pandemic?

Smoking does not protect you from the Coronavirus!

Increased risk of infection

Smokers' fingers come into direct contact with the mouth significantly more often, making potential virus transmission from hand to mouth more likely than in non-smokers.

Special risk of infection - tobacco products involving a social component, such as hookah, but also electronic tobacco products, if used by more than one person.

More severe clinical picture of the disease

Most smokers have a reduced lung capacity, which is a special problem when the need for oxygen is increased or when the ability to use it adequately in the body is reduced, which is the case with infections. There is a growing body of scientific evidence that smokers are a group at higher risk of developing a more severe clinical picture of COVID-19.

What about passive smoking?

Children now spend more time indoors than usual. In children who grow up in conditions of increased exposure to tobacco smoke, the body's defenses are generally weakened, putting them at higher risk of lower respiratory tract infections, otitis media, and asthma. These children also develop a more severe clinical picture of viral pneumonia, such as that caused by the novel coronavirus.

A special health risk - "residual" tobacco smoke - smoke that remains in the form of small particles on the surrounding surfaces and objects, from where it continues to cause toxic effects for a long time.

Don't make a bad habit worse! Let the pandemic prompt positive shifts!

More time indoors, fewer activities, boredom, work from home, a state of increased stress and anxiety - there is a real danger of reaching for a cigarette more frequently, and former smokers may even be tempted to relapse.

On the other hand - the current situation may be a unique time to approach some life decisions with fresh motivation. So, let the awareness of the increased risk of coronavirus infection prompt you to quit smoking. You can hardly make a better decision - in the interest of your own, your family's, and above all, your children's health!