Port Blair, July 29: The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has again warned against use of any tobacco products to prevent getting infected from novel Coronavirus. The latest advisory has been issued in concurrence with the WHO statement on tobacco use and COVID-19 issued on 11 May 2020, which can be accessed at https:// www. who.int /news-room/detail/11-05-2020-who-statementtobacco-use-and-covid-19. To quit tobacco, citizens have been advised to call the toll free Quitline 1800-11-2356 or/and also avail the services of mCessation through behavioural change text messages by sending a missed call on the mCessation number 011-22901701 or registering at http://www.nhp.gov.in/quit-tobacco, the advisory said.
There have been recent
reports in the media quoting studies conducted in France suggesting the
possibility of link between tobacco or nicotine in the prevention or treatment
of COVID19. The findings of these studies are inconsistent with the broader
existing evidence that tobacco use impacts the lungs and other organs, lowers
the immunity and makes people vulnerable to COVID-19. The French studies used
limited data sets and the findings are inconclusive. Researchers of these
studies do acknowledge the limitation in the study that hospitals were probably
not recording patients' smoking status properly as they were too busy treating
patients, the advisory said. On benefits of quitting smoking, the Ministry said
that the carbon monoxide level in the bloodstream drops to normal within 12
hours of quitting. "Within 2-12 weeks, circulation improves and lung
function increases. After 1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath
decrease."
"Evidence from
countries reporting COVID-19 related fatalities has highlighted that the people
with pre-existing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are more susceptible to
becoming severely ill with COVID-19. Tobacco, being one of the causes behind
these NCDs, indirectly puts the tobacco users or/and smokers at risk of being
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. Chewing tobacco products (Khaini, Gutkha, Paan, Zarda) increases
the urge to spit. Spitting in public places increases health risks especially
those of spreading the infectious and contagious diseases like, COVID19,
tuberculosis, swine flu, encephalitis, etc.
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 like products use can increase risk and severity of pulmonary infections because of damage to upper airways and a decrease in pulmonary immune function. Smokers are likely to be more vulnerable to COVID-19 as 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. Experts have confirmed that smokers are more likely to develop severe symptoms or die from COVID-19, as it primarily attacks the lungs. Further 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, the advisory.
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