Study finds strong links between smoking and Covid-19

A recent research by a group of Bangladeshi professionals showed that a strong link exists between severe Covid-19 infection and the habit of smoking.

This study titled "Association Between Smoking and COVID-19 Severity: Evidence from Bangladesh" was published in the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare Friday.

According to the study result, 16.5% of ever-smoker Covid-19 patients were in critical condition across the country.

The study results also show that smokers with a longer active smoking history are more prone to developing the severe and critical stages of Covid-19.

Conducted on 2022 Covid-19 patients, the research confirmed that smoking fuels the progression of Covid-19 severity.

Its analysis shows that ever-smokers are at 2.45 times higher risk of being in critical condition than never-smokers.

Among all 2022 Covid-19 patients, 14.99% were severe, 17.85% were moderate, 33.09% were mild, and 17.56% were asymptomatic.

The researchers called for mass awareness and cessation campaigns by governments and other organisations to maintain alertness regarding contamination by similar types of virus-borne diseases.