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NEWCASTLE: If you are a smoker, there has never been a better time to quit.
Coronavirus affects the lungs and causes flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, and fatigue. In the most severe cases, patients struggle to breathe and may die of respiratory failure.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people quit smoking, as it makes them more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.
Here’s what we know about smoking and the risk of COVID-19, and how it can increase your chances of quitting smoking while you’re under lockdown.
SMOKING AND RISK COVID-19
Early data from China suggests that smoking history is a factor that puts poor outcomes at risk in patients with COVID-19.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, smoking is a leading risk factor for chronic disease and death.
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Smokers are more susceptible to developing heart disease, which thus far appears to be the highest risk factor for the COVID-19 death rate. The Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University reports that smoking appears to be a factor associated with poor survival in Italy, where 24 percent of people smoke.
We know that immunocompromised people are at higher risk if they receive COVID-19 and cigarette smoke is an immunosuppressant.
And hand-to-mouth smoking makes smokers vulnerable to COVID-19 as they touch their mouths and faces more frequently.
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We don’t yet know if recent ex-smokers have a higher risk of COVID-19 than people who have never smoked. Since the lungs heal quickly after quitting, being an ex-smoker is likely to decrease your chances of complications from COVID-19.
LEAVING WILL REDUCE RISKS
The benefits of quitting smoking are almost immediate. Within 24 hours of quitting smoking, the body begins to recover and repair itself. Lung function improves and respiratory symptoms become less severe.
Smokers remove their face masks in the smoking area outside of the Raffles City Mall (Photo: Jeremy Long)
You may not notice the changes right away, but they will be obvious months after quitting. And improvements are maintained with long-term abstinence.
The tiny hairs in the lungs and airways (called cilia) improve to remove mucus and debris. You will begin to notice that you are breathing easier.
Symptoms of chronic bronchitis, such as chronic cough, mucus production, and wheezing, decrease rapidly. Among people with asthma, lung function improves within a few months of quitting, and treatments are more effective.
Respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia also decrease with quitting smoking.
People should seek behavioral counseling support to work through motivations to quit smoking, strategies for dealing with triggers, and distraction techniques.
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And you can get behavioral support from your doctor or psychologist through helplines in your state or territory or online.
Several studies suggest that some people quit smoking without help. If you feel you need extra help, talk to your doctor about nicotine chewing gum, patches, inhalers, pills, or prescription drugs. If you can’t get to a GP, you can try a telehealth consultation or consider over-the-counter products.
EXIT WHILE LOCKED
Physical distancing and blocking measures can make it harder to get the support you need to quit smoking, but it is not impossible.
A man wearing an N95 mask smokes a cigarette in Singapore on February 23, 2020. REUTERS / Feline Lim
If financial stress is undermining your attempts to quit, figure out how much money you can save by quitting, and whatever you do, don’t share cigarettes with someone else.
Financial support is available if COVID-19 has affected your income.
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Social support, even during closing, is crucial. Why not organize a group of friends who also want to give up and support each other through Houseparty, Zoom or Skype?
Pandemic or non-pandemic, smoking poses a huge risk to your health and also hurts your finances.
Any effort you make now to reduce your smoking or quit smoking entirely will reduce your risk if you get COVID-19, help you live longer, and enjoy a better quality of life. We wish him the best of luck with him.
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Billie Bonevski is the president of Women in Science, Caitlin Bialek is a research assistant, and Eliza Skelton is a research scholar at the Faculty of Health and Medicine. They are all based at the University of Newcastle. This comment first appeared in The Conversation.
