WHO associates smoking with increased risk in coronavirus cases | PRESENT

LONDON – Smoking is linked to an increased risk of severe illness and death in hospitalized patients due to the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, although it did not specify exactly how much the risk was. [19659002] In a scientific report published this week, the United Nations health agency reviewed 34 published studies on the relationship between smoking and Covid-19, including the probability of infection, hospitalization, and severity of pathology and death. [19659002] The WHO noted that smokers represent up to 18% of patients hospitalized for coronavirus and that there seemed to be a significant relationship between whether patients smoked and the severity of the disease they suffered, the type of hospital interventions they needed, and the risk of

In April, French researchers published a smaller study suggesting that smokers had a lower risk of contracting Covid- 19 and planned to test nicotine patches on patients and healthcare workers, but at the time their conclusions were questioned by many scientists citing the lack of definitive data.

According to the WHO, "the available evidence suggests that smoking is associated with a increased severity of illness and death in hospitalized Covid-19 patients, "and recommended that smokers quit.