Mohamed Salah

The pandemic of the newly created Corona virus Covid-19 comes with a warning message to smokers to break the cycle of nicotine addiction and accelerate its cessation steps, because of the dangerous smoking effects on the respiratory system, making it in a position of complete vulnerability to the devastating attack of the virus.

The smoker may see that the opportunity to quit smoking is out of reach, especially during the period of healthy isolation and fasting in Ramadan, but they are - in fact - supportive weapons to quit smoking, especially when it is discovered that smokers are 14 times more likely to develop pneumonia than non-smokers, according to a study It was carried out on 78 patients with Covid-19, and published in the Chinese Medical Journal, and the World Health Organization has noted that smokers are more likely to develop more serious illnesses if they contract the virus.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that smoking in all its forms - including electronic - may increase the risk of infection from the virus caused by the virus, and increase its severity, due to its close association with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary artery, all of which weaken the immune response and resilience In front of the repercussions of the virus attack.

So the director of the University of California Tobacco Research Center Stanton Glantz recommends "stop conventional and electronic smoking and avoid secondhand smoke", to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection.

what is happening?
According to the World Health Organization, on its website, "Smoking means that fingers - and possibly contaminated cigarettes - constantly come into contact with the lips, which increases the chances of the virus transmitting from hand to mouth. It is also not excluded that smokers have lung disease, which exposes them to serious complications." Also, smoking tools are usually used by more than one person, which may facilitate transmission, and put patients at risk of serious diseases such as pneumonia.

It also happens that smoking causes inflammation of the lungs and suppresses immune functions, according to the head of the Department of Lung Diseases at New York University Hospital Dr. Birzada, "Regular smoking prevents ciliary cleansing of the airways, as these small hair-like cilia, which are responsible for removing toxins and mucus from the airways Keeping them away from the lungs when coughing is severely affected when continuing to smoke.

Hassan Torot, head of the chest surgery department at the Faculty of Medicine at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University of Anatolia, says, “Cigarettes negatively affect the body’s reaction mechanism in the face of the disease caused by the Corona virus, and because of the great damage it causes to the lungs, the virus causes its effect on damaged and damaged lung tissue. This leads to severe respiratory failure, which may lead to death. "

How do cigarettes affect the body?
According to the World Health Organization, "Tobacco smokers become less likely to be infected with the Covid-19 virus if they quit smoking, because smoking cessation has a direct positive effect on lung, cardiovascular function, and this improvement increases over time, which increases the ability of Coronavirus patients to cope. For infection, and reduces the risk of death. "

Stanford University professor Krishna Sudhir explains what happens to the body after smoking cessation, on the TED platform, and says, "Twenty minutes after a smoker quits smoking, his heart rate and blood pressure begin to return to normal. After 12 An hour when the level of carbon monoxide stabilizes in the body, which increases the blood's ability to carry oxygen.

After a day of quitting, the chances of a heart attack begin to decrease as blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. Lungs become healthier after about a month, with less coughing and improvement in the problem of shortness of breath; sensitive hair-like cilia in the airways and lungs begin to recover within weeks, and fully recover after nine months, which enhances immunity against infection.

Steps to quit smoking The
 smoker needs several procedures when starting the step to quit smoking, the most important of which is to get away from all the conditions and conditional influences that have been associated with the desire to smoke for him, if meeting friends or being in cafes, where the spread of smoke around it raises his desire to smoke, in addition Until friends urge and invite them to smoke, spending the day in home isolation, along with long hours of fasting, may become an incentive to quit smoking.

The smoker knows very well that it is not easy in the early days, but it is a step that needs support from those around him, so the environment around him must be prepared and prepared for this step, as follows:

Clean the house of any traces of smoking, such as cans and cigarettes

- Removing ashtrays from home.

- Washing smoker clothes and bed linen that may carry the smell of cigarettes, and may cause the smoker to return to smoking.

Perfume the house and furnishings in a pleasant spirit as an alternative to the smell of cigarettes.

Provide alternatives such as drinks, snacks, or fruit during breakfast hours, to prevent smoking.

The smoker should not hesitate to seek help from his family members, to understand the change he is going through during this critical period, especially since the desire to smoke takes between 5 and 10 minutes, and it can be overcome by following these steps, which are recommended by the Mayo Clinic:

1-  Try nicotine substitutes , prescribed medically, such as sprays, plasters, gum, or lozenges.

2 -  Avoid stimuli , such as cafes, stress and drinking coffee if they are linked to smoking, and cigarettes can be replaced with a piece of chocolate as an alternative reward for the cigarette.

3-  Delay , whenever you feel that you are about to surrender to the desire to smoke, resist and wait only ten minutes, and do something to distract yourself and delay that desire, such as a simple exercise or bathing in warm or cold water, as you feel comfortable.

4-  Chew something , give your mouth something sweet to chew like sugar-free gum or candy, bite off raw carrots or eat a few nuts or sunflower seeds.

5.  Beware the trick "one by " , do not fool yourself ratification Seduce that smoking one cigarette will help to silence the desire for tobacco, too often leads smoking one cigarette to the second, and do not leave at home any cigarettes cause weakness or Antekacetk.

6-  Be physically active . Physical activity, even if it is limited to going up and down stairs, or taking a small walk or jogging, will help divert your attention from the desire to smoke and reduce its intensity.

7-  Practice relaxation techniques , because resisting the urge to smoke may be psychological stressful in itself, it is possible to relieve this stress by doing yoga and meditation exercises and listening to music or a somewhat long prayer, and the Tarawih and Tahajud prayers may help you with that.

8-  Call to get support , as you strive to resist the urge to smoke, call a family member or friend, and have a fun conversation.

9-  Browse the Internet , to learn from others how to stop smoking, and try applications designed for this purpose.

10-  Remind yourself of the benefits , such as feeling better, great improvement in health, ridding loved ones of passive smoking, and saving money.

Remember that the decision is yours, and it only takes several days to get rid of your bad habit.