World's 1.3 billion smokers urged to quit to reduce COVID-19 risks

The tobacco industry is urged to stop producing as evidence shows smokers who with COVID-19 become more seriously ill.

 

Smokers urged to quit and tobacco companies to stop producing to help reduce severe COVID-19 risks
Experts from the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease have said they are "deeply concerned" about coronavirus' impact on the world's 1.3 billion smokers - particularly those in poorer countries whose healthcare systems are already overburdened.
Gan Quan, a public health specialist and director of the union, said: "The best thing the tobacco industry can do to fight COVID-19 is to immediately stop producing, marketing and selling tobacco."
Smoking is known to weaken the immune system, making it less able to respond effectively to infections.
And smokers may already have lung disease or reduced lung capacity which would greatly increase the risk of serious illness.
Mr Quan said governments around the world have a "moral imperative" to advise smokers to stop.
"This is the absolute best time to quit smoking," he said.


The group's statement used emerging evidence from initial studies into COVID-19 from patients in China and elsewhere that suggest smokers infected with the virus become more severely ill and suffer more serious complications, such as breathing difficulties.
In a study of more than 1,000 COVID-19 patients published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February found that smokers - both past and present - did not fare well, with smokers comprising more than 25% of those that needed to be placed on ventilators, admitted to itensive care or who died.
The World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention also warned smoking can expose people to serious complications from COVID-19.