INTERVIEW
In Spain, to curb the transmission of the coronavirus, Galicia and the Canaries now ban smoking in the streets and on the terrace without a minimum safety distance. A measure that also questions and interests other regions such as Madrid. But on this question of the dangerousness of cigarettes, scientists are not all of the same opinion.
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DNA molecules which "have no infectious possibility"
The ban on smoking in public spaces raises questions about the risks of contamination by cigarette smoke. A ban which, for some scientists, is irrelevant. Indeed, for the moment, there is no scientific study proving the risk of contamination by cigarette smoke. However, for several weeks, some doctors have alerted the public authorities to this risk. According to them, the smoke spit out by the smoker is made up of microparticles that could contain the virus.
Tobaccoologist Bertrand Dautzenberg, interviewed by Europe 1, does not agree with this theory. "There are DNA molecules which go off in the small fumes which swirl in the air, but these pieces are not whole viruses and have no infectious possibility", he assures. "The problem with smoking is that you take off your mask, and if you are 30 cm from someone, then being without a mask next to someone is embarrassing for public health" , he continues, believing that this is true whether we smoke or vape next to someone, or that we are without a mask next to someone without smoking or vaping.
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Without scientific study, specialists advocate caution
The World Health Organization believes that the possibility of contagion is real through tobacco and smoke. However, without a precise scientific study on the subject, public health specialists advocate caution and therefore, the ban on smoking in open spaces where there are gatherings and when the distance is not sufficient. This is the case, for example, with terraces located in busy streets.
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In Spain, the subject is taken very seriously. The Spanish Society of Epidemiology had asked in June for a ban on smoking outdoors because "smokers who are infected and asymptomatic can emit droplets containing the virus and put the rest of the population at risk".