Quit Smoking and give yourself a better chance of fighting the virus!
Quitting smoking and vaping is one of the most important preventative measures we can take to significantly lower the risk of COVID-19 infection, severity and associated complications. The odds of Coronavirus disease progression and death are 14 times higher in those who smoke (Liu et al, 2020). Below are some of the reasons why smoking can lead to increased severity and death in people with respiratory infections such as COVID-19:
Smoking Causes Structural Changes in the Respiratory Tract and Lungs:
Dangerous components of tobacco smoke (e.g. acrolein, acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, nicotine, free radicals in cigarette smoke etc.) induce structural changes in the respiratory tract. These changes include lung tissue inflammation and fibrosis, increased permeability of lung mucosa, changes in pathogen adherence and disruption of the respiratory epithelium among others. These changes predispose the smoker to upper and lower respiratory tract infections and worsen the lung inflammation initiated by the viral infection.
2. Smoking Impairs Human Immune System and Response:
Boosting Your Immune System In Times Of Viral Respiratory ...
A healthy immune system and an appropriate immune response is needed to remove the virus from our body. Forming antibodies is one of the ways we fight the pathogens in our cells. Several studies have shown up to 20% reduction of blood IgA, IgG and IgM antibodies in smokers (Arcavi and Benowitz, 2004). Moreover, smoking decreases the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 and IL-6 (McCrea et al, 1994). Depletion of these cytokines can lead to susceptibility to bacterial pneumonia. Furthermore, smoking can lead to decrease in CD4+ lymphocytes and depressed phagocyte activity. In summary, these changes in immune response makes it significantly harder for the immune system to limit viral replication or enhance inflammatory processes involved in the removal of the virus from our cells.
3. Smoking May Allow more of the Virus to Enter our Lung Cells:
Coronavirus enters lung cells via Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2, shown above) receptors in both the lung parenchyma and other respiratory epithelial cells. Smoking is associated with higher production and expression of ACE2 receptors (McCree, 1994) . In other words, smokers not only allow more of the virus to enter their respiratory cells (thereby leading to more cell damage) but also produce more of the machines that facilitate virus entry.
Along the same line, vaping is not any better than smoking. Scientists argue that vaping creates vapour droplets that makes it easier for the virus to travel from your nose or throat to the lungs.
Take Home Message
Quitting smoking in an extremely difficult journey. The journey is even more difficult at times when we have a lot of stress either by always staying at home or by other million things affected by the pandemic. However, considering the reasons above, it’s worth your 100% effort to quit! It’s never too late to quit and reap the benefits. If you quit smoking now, you will have a healthier lung in just a few days. You will also have a better chance to fight the virus if you get infected!
Neumann,
MscPT, BSc Biomedical Sciences, min Psych.
References
Arcavi, L., & Benowitz, N. L. (2004). Cigarette smoking and infection. Archives of internal medicine, 164(20), 2206-2216.
Liu, W., Tao, Z. W., Lei, W., Ming-Li, Y., Kui, L., Ling, Z., ... & Ming, Y. (2020). Analysis of factors associated with disease outcomes in hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus disease. Chinese medical journal.
McCrea, K. A., Ensor, J. E., Nall, K., Bleecker, E. R., & Hasday, J. D. (1994). Altered cytokine regulation in the lungs of cigarette smokers. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 150(3), 696-703.
