Meta-analysis shows that smoking is clearly associated with the progression of Covid-19

A large meta-analysis study seems to confirm that smoking promotes the progression of Covid-19. In fact, since smoking significantly affects pulmonary immune function, it is a risk factor for contracting other infectious diseases with more serious consequences in infected individuals.

A PubMed analysis of scientific articles dealing with the subject was carried out, focusing in particular on studies concerning people with the Coronavirus, identified as non-smokers or, on the contrary, noted as regular smokers or with a smoking history. Thus, 19 relevant and reference articles, reviewed by experts in the field, were carefully analyzed. The results indicate that 30% of patients with a history of smoking experienced a highly significant progression of the disease compared to only 7.6% of non-smokers. The conclusion is clear: smokers and former smokers are more likely to develop severe forms of the disease than non-smokers.

Smoking Is Associated With COVID-19 Progression: A Meta-analysis. Roengrudee Patanavanich & coll. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Volume 22, Issue 9, September 2020, Pages 1653–1656, https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntaa082