Smoking may worsen COVID severity, increase risk of death, UK study suggests

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New Delhi: Smoking is likely to worsen the severity of COVID-19 and increase the risk of death from the virus, a first-of-its-kind study in the UK has shown.

published in the magazine Breast Monday, the study refutes earlier assumptions and reports, which suggested that smokers are less likely to suffer from severe covid.

For the research, observational and genetic data on smoking and COVID from the UK were collected by a team from the University of Oxford to strengthen the evidence base.

Primary care records, COVID-19 test results, hospital admission data and death certificates of 4,21,469 participants were collected to look at the relationship between smoking and severity of COVID-19 infection from January to August 2020.

The data were collected from the UK Biobank – a large, long-term study in the UK examining the contribution of genetic predisposition and environmental exposure to the development of the disease.

During the study period, 13,446 (3.2 per cent) people tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,649 (0.4 per cent) of them tested positive.

Of these, 968 (0.2 per cent) required hospitalization and 444 (0.1 per cent) died due to infection.

Read also: Study Claims Smoking Prevents Covid Taking Down, Tobacco Industry Researchers

Smokers are 80% more likely to have severe covid

Of the total 4,21,469 participants in the study, more than a third — 37 percent — were former smokers while 59 percent had never smoked. Only 4 percent were current smokers.

Of the current smokers, 71 percent were light or moderate smokers who smoked between 1 and 19 cigarettes a day. About 29 percent were heavy smokers and smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day.

According to the team’s analysis, compared to those who had never smoked, current smokers are 80 percent more likely to be admitted and significantly more likely to die from COVID.

They also found that a genetic predisposition to smoking (an increased likelihood based on genetic makeup) was linked to a 45 percent increased risk of infection and a 60 percent higher risk of hospitalization for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, a genetic predisposition to excessive smoking was associated with a more than double the risk of infection, a five-fold increase in the risk of hospital admission, and a 10-fold increase in the risk of death from the virus.

“The idea that smoking tobacco can protect against COVID-19 was always an impossibility,” wrote Anthony Laverty and Christopher Millett of Imperial College London in an accompanying editorial.

“A respiratory pandemic should be the ideal moment to focus the collective mind on tobacco control,” he said.

Read also: Screening non-smokers for lung cancer is just as important and effective, Taiwan study finds

Earlier research on covid and smoking

According to the researchers of the study, the current scientific evidence is inconsistent on whether smoking is associated with a higher chance of more severe COVID infection.

For example, a Study From China, published in May 2020, the country found an unexpectedly low prevalence of smokers among COVID patients.

Such studies also inspired clinical trials Nicotine therapy is based on the hypothesis that nicotine may stop the virus from spreading.

According to researchers from the University of Oxford, the current research prompted them to seek more clarity on the research between smoking and COVID to ensure accurate public messaging.

Read also: India’s Tobacco Control Act must be amended, WHO guidelines must be recognized, says report

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