Health and wellbeing
All the facts you need to know about smoking, alcohol and COVID-19
Tobacco researcher Dr Catherine Egbe has warned that smokers are twice as likely to become severely ill should they contract the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Egbe is a specialist scientist at the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
She explains that COVID-19, which is respiratory virus, is worsened by smoking. A respiratory virus mainly attacks the human respiratory system, which is made up of the sinuses, nasal cavity, windpipe, bronchi, bronchioles and air sacs. It is this system that is also negatively impacted by smoking.
As such, smokers stand a greater chance than non-smokers of becoming critically ill from the virus or even of dying.
Egbe says smoking is known to cause many of the underlying medical conditions that have been linked to severe symptoms of COVID-19. These include cancers; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke; asthma and diabetes.
“Smoking is known to be associated with the increased development of acute respiratory distress syndrome, which is the key disease manifestation for severe COVID 19.
“Even if smoking does not directly cause a smoker to die from COVID-19, it could cause this indirectly because smokers are more likely to have the diseases that could cause a person die of COVID-19,” she says.
In addition, cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body and generally reduces the
body's ability to fight diseases.
Egbe says that tobacco smoking produces more than 7 000 chemicals, 250 of which have been confirmed as toxic to the human body. Out of these 250 chemicals, 69 are known to cause cancer. This affects the health of smokers, as well as those exposed to second-hand smoke, Egbe explains.
Those with TB and asthma are also high-risk patients where COVID-19 is concerned.
“There is evidence to show that those who have asthma are at risk of having severe symptoms or even dying if they contract COVID-19.
“There is no study that has been published showing TB patients' risk of contracting COVID-19 but the World Health Organisation has warned that it is not unlikely that people with TB will have poor treatment outcomes if they contract COVID-19. This means that they can also have more serious outcomes of the disease because they have TB.”
As part of levels four and five lockdown regulations, the sale of cigarettes is banned. This decision is in the interests of the people, says Egbe.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had initially announced that under Level Four, cigarette sales would be allowed but government reversed the decision after the National Coronavirus Command Council consulted with medical experts and various role-players.
“We're a very consultative government and we do consult on a number of issues... and we are a listening government …,” said President Ramaphosa when explaining why the decision was reversed.
He said government had listened to concerns raised and re-examined its position on the sale of cigarettes.
Egbe says apart from the direct effect smoking has on a smoker; cigarettes are often shared among friends. This, she says, can lead to faster community transmission of COVID-19 because the coronavirus has been found in the saliva of infected people.
“Remember, people are being asked to avoid touching their mouth, nose and eyes. When a person is smoking, he or she will not be able to keep to that hygiene practice.”
Another habit that is equally dangerous in relation to COVID-19 is the consumption of alcohol. SAMRC's director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Research Unit, Professor Charles
Parry, says alcohol weakens the immune system, which makes one an easy target for COVID-19.
Parry says research has shown that earlier alcohol-provoked lung damage from heavy drinking can worsen the outcome of a secondary infection, such as COVID-19.
“Individuals with alcohol-use disorders are more likely to develop pneumonia, TB, respiratory syncytial virus infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Alcohol disrupts ciliary function in the upper airways, impairs the function of immune cells and weakens the barrier function of the epithelia in the lower airways.
“Often, alcohol-provoked lung damage goes undetected until a second insult, such as a respiratory infection, leads to more severe lung diseases than those seen in non-drinkers.
He adds that a study found that binge drinking can reduce infection-fighting white blood cells known as monocytes in the hours after peak intoxication, essentially weakening the immune system for up to at least five hours.
Allowing the sale of alcohol would increase the risk of community transmission of COVID-19, Parry says. He adds that when people drink, they lose their inhibitions and drink with others in a way that is opposed to social distancing.