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IS THIS REALLY THE RIGHT TIME TO QUIT SMOKING?

There is no disputing that quitting smoking is difficult and that nicotine withdrawal is uncomfortable, but there has never been a better or more urgent time to stop using tobacco.

 

The good news—and the really encouraging piece—is that while it is difficult to undo all the damage from years of smoking, positive results from quitting tobacco are immediate, starting the second the lungs are no longer exposed to toxic chemicals.

Within 20 minutes of stopping smoking, heart rate and blood pressure drop; after 12 hours, the blood’s carbon monoxide level drops; after two weeks, circulation improves and lung function increases; and after one month, cilia, which move mucus out of the lungs, begin to regain normal functioning, increasing the lung’s ability to self-clean and reduce infection risks.

 

Because smoking has such adverse consequences on lung health, and because quitting smoking almost immediately improves lung health, it is believed that tobacco cessation should be included among the preventive actions—washing hands, social distancing, avoiding contact with eyes, mouth and nose—that are frequently cited and urgently recommended as effective against COVID-19.

Smokers are most at risk of becoming infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

Smoking is most likely associated with the negative progression and adverse outcomes of COVID-19.