COVID-19 Pandemic: An Opportunity for Tobacco Use Cessation.
Thursday, November 19, 2020
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Posted by: Natalia Gromov
Indu
B Ahluwalia, Matthew Myers, Joanna E Cohen COVID-19 Pandemic: An
Opportunity for Tobacco Use Cessation.
The Lancet Public Health. Published: November, 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30236-X
Data from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey from 31 countries between 2008–18
show that more than 176 million smokers attempted to quit in the past 12
months, and most reported little to no assistance when quitting.1 During the
COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have highlighted the association between tobacco
smoking and adverse COVID-19 disease outcomes, and the need for smokers to
quit.2 Evidence from the US Surgeon General's report shows that cigarette
smoking can suppress the immune system, increase the risk of respiratory
infections, increase the risk of respiratory illnesses such as chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, and cause heart and lung diseases.
Cigarette smoking is associated with severe clinical outcomes for people with other
types of coronaviruses, including Middle East respiratory syndrome.3
There is robust scientific evidence showing that comprehensive smoking
cessation interventions are essential to reducing tobacco use.4 Articles 12 and
14 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control call for parties to
increase awareness and cessation services for tobacco users. WHO's MPOWER
policy package and the 2019 Global Tobacco Control report5 promote the
provision of access to comprehensive cessation interventions to help quit
tobacco use as an essential component of tobacco control programmes.
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