Many ditch cigs, vow to lead healthier life amid Covid-19

PATNA: With several studies proving that smoking is associated with a high risk of

Covid-19

contraction, many Patnaites have decided to ditch cigarettes and lead a healthier life.

Tricenarian Ravi Singh (name changed), who had been trying to quit smoking for the last five years, finally did it when his father was rushed to a hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 recently. He told this newspaper, “When I saw him gasping for breath, I was scared to death. That was when I vowed to quit smoking.”

Rajbansi Nagar resident Nishesh Kumar, on the other hand, has opted for temporary abstinence from smoking. “To me smoking is a stop-and-start affair, but now that I know it is associated with a high risk of Covid contraction, I have decided not to touch cigarettes till a vaccine comes out,” he said.

Boring Road resident Harsh Kumar, who picked up smoking when he was a teen, has begun chewing nicotine gums after his neighbour’s death due to corona. He said, “Although I did not know him personally, my heart goes out to his family. He was quite young.”

Even doctors and health experts have cautioned people against the use of cigarettes because coronavirus capitalizes on the scarred lungs of smokers.

According to the president of Indian Academy of Paediatrics-Bihar, Dr Arun Shah, tobacco smokers may be more vulnerable to Covid-19 because their fingers often come in contact with the lips, increasing the possibility of transmission of viruses from hand to mouth.

Nodal officer for Covid-19 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Patna, Dr Sanjeev Kumar, pointed out, “Smoking reduces lung capacity and increases the risk of many respiratory infections. Covid patients, who smoke, take longer to recover and are more likely to develop post-corona health complications.”

The World Health Organisation has also recommended people to quit smoking.