Are smokers, in particular, at any higher risk of getting infected? Health experts say yes.
Earlier this month, the FDA had said that smokers may have worse outcomes from Covid-19, but hadn’t been explicit about whether that included their chances of catching the virus in the first place.
“People who smoke cigarettes may be at increased risk of infection with the virus that causes Covid-19, and may have worse outcomes from Covid-19,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in an emailed response to a question from Bloomberg News.
In its March 27 statement on the risks, the FDA had said that vaping and smoking only posed a higher risk for the coronavirus in people who had underlying conditions.
You will not be surprised to know that smokers are also likely to have diminished lung capacity, and long-term smokers are highly likely to have lung damage. All these factors place them in higher-risk groups.
According to World Health Organization, smoking can increase risk due to behavioral factors because smokers constantly put their fingers to their lips when holding a cigarette, thereby transporting germs from their hands to their mouths. Transmitting the virus from the hands to the mouth is the most common way of getting the disease.
In fact, it would be best if one can make a strong will to abstain from smoking till the pandemic is controlled and finally behind us.
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