World No Tobacco Day: Docs say this is the right time to quit

While smokers are more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus due to their compromised lungs, doctors said that the national lockdown has pushed many to quit smoking.

While smokers are more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus due to their compromised lungs, doctors said that the national lockdown has pushed many to quit smoking.

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On the eve of World No Tobacco Day, which is observed on May 31, doctors warned smokers to avoid the habit even after lockdown as Sars-Cov-2— the virus that causes Covid-19 is going to remain a threat for a longer period.

In comparison to non-smokers, regular smokers can have co-morbid health issues like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with compromised lungs which are more vulnerable to contracting the infection. Along with that, they are at greater risk of developing heart diseases and asthma which, as recent data has shown, can make increase the chance of falling sick to the virus.

“Thus, the chances of smokers catching Covid-19 is higher. Also, they have higher chances of developing pneumonia if the virus gets into the body. Due to underlying health issues, the chances of mortality are also high among the smokers,” said Dr Om Srivastava, city-epidemiologist.

A recent study conducted by among 650 smokers has found that 38% reported having quit tobacco during this period. Of these, 51% were forced to quit because of the lockdown and the coronavirus scare. The study, conducted by LifeFirst, is part of a tobacco dependence treatment programme initiated by Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation in collaboration with Salaam Bombay Foundation.

On May 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended tobacco users to stop the habit as a precautionary measure against Covid-19.

Dr Himanshu A Gupte, general manager, Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation, said, “It is thus evident that this is the best time to quit tobacco use and people are willing and also making attempts. Tobacco products not being available and becoming more expensive were among the common reasons that impacted smokers.”

Tobacco users, particularly those who use smokeless tobacco, can be instrumental in spreading the disease through spitting. Covid-19 spreads through small droplets from the nose or mouth, which are dispersed when an infected person cough, sneeze, speech, exhalation or spitting.

“As per research, these droplets can survive for hours. So, smoking increases the chances of spreading the virus further among other people,” said Dr Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician at Bombay Hospital.

A 32-year-old from Borivali who recently quit smoking after 11 years said that the lockdown gave her an opportunity to quit smoking. “I have stopped going out and I can’t smoke at home due to the presence of my parents. In the first week, whenever I had the urges of smoking, I ate a lot of junk food. But after 21 days, I felt better,” she said.