Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

There has never been a better time to quit smoking. According to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, “quitting tobacco is one of the best things any person can do for their own health.”

Quitting smoking improves lung function, immune response, and cardiovascular health, putting former smokers in a stronger position to fight severe infections like COVID-19

One of the largest studies investigating associations between COVID-19 and smoking looked at clinical outcomes from 1,099 patients with lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection from 532 hospitals across China. This study reports that 12.4% of current smokers died, were admitted to an intensive care unit or required mechanical ventilation, compared with 4.7% of nonsmokers. Along similar lines, 21.2% of current smokers had severe symptoms, as opposed to 14.5% of nonsmokers

According to the WHO, available research suggests that smokers are likely at greater risk of developing severe disease and dying from COVID-19.

Smoking causes cancer, COPD, and other lung diseases, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

In light of smoking’s negative impacts on the immune system and smokers’ increased susceptibility to other respiratory infections, it is likely that smoking is associated with increased risk of infection with the novel coronavirus.

The World Health Organization has emphasized that smoking requires repeated hand-to-face motion, which increases the risk of viral transmission from fingers and cigarettes to the mouth

Many have raised concerns that waterpipe use, which often involves using shared mouthpieces in social settings, may contribute to the spread of the coronavirus.