The campaign comes amid fears that smoking worsens effects of COVID-19
Spearheaded by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and backed by leading health organisations, the campaign #QuitForCovid is willing smokers to ditch the cigarettes during their self-isolation period and remain smoke-free forever. It is been widely believed that smokers are at greater risk of suffering more extreme consequences from COVID-19 than non-smokers, so experts are advising smokers that now is an essential time to quit.
At this moment in time, it seems very hard to find the silver lining of the gloomy cloud which is COVID-19. The whole country is in lockdown, people have lost their jobs and some are critically ill or have tragically passed. Whilst these tragic events are of course rightly the focus area, as a momentary respite, we should see if we can salvage some solace from such a devastating period. As well as carbon emissions being at a record low and people coming together to spread joy from their homes, we are seeing thousands trying to give up smoking during this outbreak.
ASH, Public Health England (PHE) and local stop smoking services have all backed the #QuitForCovid campaign. The social media campaign, primarily featured on Twitter, aims to inform smokers of the heightened risks from smoking during the COVID-19 outbreak, and provide strong quitting support and advice.
Smokers at higher risk of experiencing severe effects of COVID-19
On the 17th March, UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock warned us that smoking could exacerbate the effects of COVID-19. He said,
“It is abundantly clear from the research into previous coronaviruses that smoking makes the impact of a coronavirus worse.”
Vaping and COVID-19
Many media articles and public commentators, particularly in the USA, have tried to link vaping with smoking in their advice, but there is no evidence to suggest they carry similar risks with respect to COVID-19. Dr Konstantinos Farsalinos took and in-depth look at the available research, or lack of it. He said,
“There is no evidence on any effects of e-cigarettes on coronavirus infectivity and disease progression, and we cannot exclude the possibility that the use of propylene glycol might have some beneficial effects.”
The advice from health experts is therefore very much the same as it was, in that e-cigarettes are far less harmful than smoking, and if you are struggling to quit, give an e-cigarette a try. Matthew Evison, Chest physician, tobacco dependence specialist and lead on the Manchester CURE project has urged smokers to consider switching to e-cigarettes during the outbreak. In a series of Tweets he suggested various ways of giving up, one of which was as follows.
“Ways to stop smoking in #Covid_19 isolation number 5: call a local vape shop and ask about e-cigarettes – discuss types and flavours. Ask a friend to collect for you. E-cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking tobacco. Like NRT use high dose nicotine to stop cravings.”
Whilst vape shops are not included in the ‘essential store’ types still allowed to open for retail sales by the government, online trading is not affected. If you are looking to make the switch to vaping during isolation then our customer service team are on hand to support you and answer any queries you may have. Visit www.totallywicked.co.uk, where you can contact us via Live Chat, drop us an email at [email protected], call us on 01254 692244, or message us on social media.
News from: https://www.totallywicked-eliquid.co.uk/vaped/covid-19-and-vaping/