New Report Shatters Old Beliefs: Smokers and Vapers are in MORE danger from COVID-19

By Tony Winterburn • 25 July 2020 • 13:29

E-Cigarettes Increase Risk Of Disease In Young People

image: Wikipedia

The science is there, so just why do smokers and vapers, and anyone close, face higher danger from Covid-19?

A new report casts doubt on early claims smoking offered protection from the disease.

At the beginning of the pandemic, many smokers thought they had little to worry about as there was a sliver of good news for them: a study circulating on social media suggested smoking could be associated with a lower risk of contracting Covid-19. After months of studies, however, scientists now know that is not the full story.

A number of recent reports appear to guy this claim. Over the last few months, researchers at the University of California analyzed data from over 8,000 young adults. The World Health Organization completed the National Health Interview Survey, alongside a collection of risk indicators set out by the U.S.A. Centres for sickness management and bar. The goal was to see just how vulnerable adolescents were to contracting COVID-19.

The results are in

Researchers found 32% of these surveyed had pre-existing conditions that place them in danger for infection. However, once the researchers removed those that used e-cigarettes and looked solely at non-smokers the figure dropped 16%.

Another recent study found similar results. The Society for analysis on plant toxin and Tobacco analyzed 11,000 Covid-19 patients found that those who had a history of smoking found their conditions were a lot more severe than those that didn’t or never smoked.

The data is clear, non-smokers (with no underlying health conditions) have a 50% better chance of surviving from COVID. Smokers and vapers didn’t fare as well, experiencing much more severe symptoms and a higher death rate.

New Report Shatters Old Beliefs: Smokers and Vapers are in MORE danger from COVID-19 — Clear data shows that you have a 50% better chance of surviving from COVID if you do not smoke or vape! image: Pixabay

Does smoking cigarettes or vaping increase your chances of developing coronavirus and make it harder to recover?

According to Dr Michael Matthay, the associate director of critical care medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), the answer is YES – although it is not currently known exactly to what extent.

“Based on prior studies with other pulmonary infections, both bacterial and viral, it is highly likely that cigarette smoking and vaping will increase the risk of coronavirus pneumonia and increase its severity, though we don’t know to what extent,” he said.

Experts have also pointed to a 2019 study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which found that 47.6 per cent of men in China smoke, to show a possible link between smoking and coronavirus – after China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more men were contracting and dying from coronavirus than women.

“Among Chinese patients diagnosed with Covid-19 associated pneumonia, the odds of disease progression (including leading to death) were 14 times higher among people with a history of smoking compared to those who did not smoke. This was the strongest risk factor among those examined,” the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education said.

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