Does smoking cigarettes, tobacco increase risk of getting infected with coronavirus? WHO says yes
With the novel coronavirus increasing risk in countries day by day, people are getting conscious about what they should eat and which things should be avoided. Now a new report presented by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that people who possess tobacco and smoke cigarettes are at a higher risk of getting infected by a coronavirus. Previously, WHO stated that elderly people who have diabetes or heart disease have a great risk. Moreover, those who come in contact with an infected person can catch the virus easily. And now a new advisory has been issued for COVID-19 which says that smoking and tobacco-eating people can also become victims of this virus.
WHO website states, "The act of smoking means that fingers (and possibly contaminated cigarettes) are in contact with lips which increases the possibility of transmission of virus from hand to mouth. Smokers may also already have lung disease or reduced lung capacity which would greatly increase risk of serious illness. Smoking products such as water pipes often involve the sharing of mouthpieces and hoses, which could facilitate the transmission of COVID-19 in communal and social settings."
The respiratory system of people also gets weakened by smoking or tobacco consumption. Along with this, the body can easily catch lung diseases like pneumonia easily due to which the risk of getting coronavirus increases rapidly.
Previously, WHO said COVID-19 disease is primarily transmitted through "respiratory droplets and close contacts", and does not seem to stay long in the air. Droplet transmission occurs when you have close contact (within one metre) with a person who has respiratory symptoms such as coughing or sneezing, which may spread these potentially infectious droplets, typically 5-10 microns in size, to your body. Transmission may also occur by touching surfaces or objects in the immediate environment around the infected person, state-run China Daily quoted the WHO publication as saying.
Talking about the number of affected cases in India, the toll has surpassed a total of 2300.
-With PTI inputs
