{"id":10565,"date":"2020-04-08T14:18:19","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T18:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=10565"},"modified":"2020-07-23T17:49:31","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T21:49:31","slug":"coronavirus-smoking-vaping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/news\/coronavirus-smoking-vaping\/","title":{"rendered":"Does smoking increase your risk of getting COVID-19?"},"content":{"rendered":"

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: As experts learn more about the novel coronavirus, news and information changes. For the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the<\/span><\/i> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the<\/span> Centers for Disease Control<\/span><\/a> (CDC). Yet an estimated<\/span> 34.2 million<\/span><\/a> adults in the U.S. still smoke cigarettes. Smoking increases your risk of cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease, and perinatal conditions<\/span>. Here\u2019s what that means during the current coronavirus pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Can smoking increase your chances of contracting COVID-19?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The answer to this question isn\u2019t clear cut\u2014because the virus is so new, the research is limited.<\/span><\/p>\n

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that COVID-19 is simply too new to definitively know the answer to this question. There is a chance that smokers are at an increased chance of testing positive for coronavirus, simply because smokers are already at an increased risk of respiratory infections.<\/span><\/p>\n

Opinion in the medical community is split. Wendi Jones, Pharm.D., a North Carolina\u2013based pharmacist says that smoking cigarettes impacts your immune, circulatory, and respiratory systems. Because of its immunosuppressive effect, \u201cit is possible that a person exposed to the virus may more likely contract COVID-19,\u201d she explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

However,<\/span> Osita Onugha<\/span><\/a>, MD, chief of thoracic surgery at Providence St. John\u2019s Health Center in California, believes that smoking doesn\u2019t increase your chances of contracting the novel coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n

An official link hasn\u2019t been made, but that doesn\u2019t mean that there is no heightened risk for smokers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smoking increases the chances of adverse outcomes in COVID-19 patients<\/span><\/h2>\n

Medical professionals suggest that if a patient tests positive for COVID-19 and is a smoker, the risks of <\/span>severe symptoms<\/span><\/a> and complications do increase.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the lung is damaged and inflamed, and you get exposed to COVID-19, there is increased inflammation in the lungs, which makes it much harder for the lung to take in oxygen,\u201d says Dr. Onugha, and added that smoking already increases your chances of having lung damage and inflammation prior to contracting the virus.<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> WHO<\/span><\/a> says that the fatality rate in China is much higher in patients with:<\/span><\/p>\n