Covid-19 Outbreak is Fag Smokers Perfect Time to be Stubbing Out for Good says Top Lung Expert

A WORLD-renowned lung disease expert says that smokers should quit the habit and that tobacco companies should stop producing cigarettes, to help cut health risks increased by the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Gan Quan, a director at the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, said: “The best thing the tobacco industry can do to fight Covid-19 is to immediately stop producing, marketing and selling tobacco.”

His group brings together international respiratory and lung specialists, officials and health agencies.

They said that they are very worried about the impact of coronavirus on smokers, especially in poorer countries with inferior health services.

Smoking is known to weaken the immune system, making it less able to respond effectively to infections.

Smokers may also already have lung disease or reduced lung capacity which would greatly increase the risk of serious illness.

Quan said governments around the world had a “moral imperative” to advise smokers to stop.

“This is the absolute best time to quit smoking,” Quan pleaded.

The Union also quoted new evidence taken from studies of coronavirus patents in China and in other countries, which suggests that smokers may become more severely ill if they get the virus.

It includes suffering with greater breathing difficulties.