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Record smokers quit during pandemic - 27th July 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen millions of people stop smoking. In the UK, charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) did research which showed 1 million have quit. A separate study by University College London found a rise in the number of people who have stopped smoking since June last year.

10,000 people were surveyed about smoking between April and June. 7.6% of the smokers in the study had given up. This is a 30% increase on the usual average for a whole year. Almost half said that Covid was part of their reason for quitting. Some were concerned for their health, while others were either unable to buy tobacco or were only social smokers.

There is data which supports smokers’ health concerns. The Covid Symptom Tracker app has 2.4 million UK users. It found smokers with Covid required hospital treatment twice as often as non-smokers. Research from the USA found that many more smokers died of Covid in hospital. For every 1 non-smoker who died, 1.8 smokers died.

However, some research is trying to claim that smoking protects us against Covid. They think nicotine might stop the virus from entering cells, which is rejected by medical experts. The dangers of smoking are far worse than any benefits. It increases the risk of infections and reduces the body’s ability to fight viruses.