Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated : July 30, 2020 11:44 AM IST
Smoking can impair lung function and reduce your immunity.
The novel coronavirus spares no one, but it can be more dangerous for certain groups of people including, older adults and people who have underlying health issues like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and asthma. Current data also suggests that smokers are more likely to develop severe symptoms or die from COVID-19, as it primarily attacks the lungs. But smoking can also increase your chances of exposure to the deadly virus as fingers and possibly contaminated cigarettes are in contact with lips, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare said in its new guidelines. It has also warned against the use of any tobacco products.
" The act of smoking means that fingers (and possibly contaminated cigarettes) are in contact with lips which increases the possibility of transmission of the virus from hand to mouth," the guidelines read.
Further, it said, smoking products such as water pipes or hookah often involve the sharing of mouth-pieces and hoses, which could facilitate the transmission of COVID-19 in communal and social settings.
Citing evidence from countries reporting COVID-19 related fatalities, the guidelines noted that people with pre-existing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are more susceptible to becoming severely ill with COVID-19.
As tobacco use is a major risk factor for NCDs like cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease and diabetes, tobacco users or/and smokers are at higher risk for developing severe illness when affected by COVID-19.
"Moreover, tobacco use poses a significant risk by accelerating the transmission of COVID-19 because the virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes," the guidelines said.
The Ministry urged people to stop chewing tobacco products (Khaini, Gutkha, Paan, Zarda) as it increases the urge to spit. Its guidelines stated, "Spitting in public places increases health risks especially those of spreading infectious and contagious diseases like COVID19, tuberculosis, swine flu, encephalitis, etc."
According to the guidelines, tobacco is the foremost preventable cause of death and disease in the world today, killing half of the people who use it. As per Global Adult Tobacco Survey-India (GATS2) India is home to over 27 crore tobacco users and globally it is the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco products. Estimates show that tobacco use accounts for about 1,280,000 deaths per year or approximately 3500 deaths every day in India.
Tobacco is considered a risk factor for many respiratory infections and also increases the severity of respiratory diseases. Tobacco smoke including second-hand smoke contains over 7000 chemicals out of which more than 69 are cancer-causing. The chemicals in tobacco smoke can suppress the activity of different types of immune cells that are involved in general and targeted immune responses.
Smoking impairs lung function, thereby reducing the immunity and making it harder for the body to fight off various diseases. Smoking, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, pan masala, and the use of other tobacco products can cause damage to upper airways and decrease pulmonary immune function. This can further increase the risk and severity of pulmonary infections.
