Covid-19 pandemic: “opportune moment to encourage and support smoking cessation”
November 23, 2020
Par: chef-projet@dnf.asso.fr
Dernière mise à jour: November 23, 2020
Temps de lecture: 4 minutes
According to an article published in November 2020 in the British medical journal The Lancet, the context of the Covid-19 pandemic constitutes an opportunity to develop actions and campaigns in favor of smoking cessation.
The authors of the article entitled "COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity for tobacco use cessation[1] » published in The Lancet in November 2020 reminds us: “Researchers have emphasized the links between smoking and the harmful effects of COVID-19 disease”[2].
They rely in particular on a report from the US Surgeon General which shows that "smoking can impair the immune system, increase the risk of respiratory infections, increase the risk of respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, and cause heart and lung diseases"[3].
“An unprecedented opportunity to strengthen tobacco control policies”
According to the authors of the article, whose arguments are based in part on recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), the current health situation represents "an opportune moment to encourage and support smoking cessation": it "offers an unprecedented opportunity to offer tobacco users comprehensive and evidence-based smoking cessation support and to strengthen tobacco control policies"[4].
Acting in this direction also responds to articles 12 and 14 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which calls on its signatories to "increase awareness and cessation services for tobacco users"[5], proven methods in the fight against smoking.
Results from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey[6] – conducted in 31 countries between 2008 and 2018 – revealed that most smokers who were trying to quit reported receiving little or no help in their efforts[7], offering smokers more support in quitting smoking therefore seems to be a priority.
Several countries have already seized the opportunity offered by the pandemic to fight smoking.
The Lancet article recalls that, to combat the spread of Covid-19 and the risk of developing serious forms of the disease due to smoking, some countries have taken strong decisions to reduce tobacco consumption, such as India and South Africa, which banned the sale of tobacco products in spring 2020.8These measures, although temporary, were particularly aimed at ensuring that smoking is reduced as much as possible in crowded places, where smoking increases the likelihood of transmission of the virus, particularly due to the droplets emitted when exhaling smoke.
Other countries besides those mentioned in the Lancet article have used the health context to conduct anti-smoking campaigns, such as the Philippines. An article published on November 11, 2020 in the business daily BusinessMirror reported on the joint fight led by the Philippine Department of Health and the Philippine Pediatric Society for smoking cessation in the context of the pandemic[9]. In particular, they conducted an awareness campaign aimed at reminding the population of the risks linked to cigarettes and also to electronic cigarettes, and the role of smoking in the spread of Covid-19.
The words of Philippine Undersecretary of Health Maria Rosario Vergeire perfectly sum up the arguments made by the authors of the Lancet article: “Smoking cessation education is important, especially during a pandemic, because it provides an opportunity to better inform the population, especially smokers, about how to take care of their own health and that of their loved ones.”[10].
©Tobacco Free Generation[1] COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity for smoking cessation. [2] Indu B Ahluwalia, Matthew Myers, Joanna E Cohen, COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity for tobacco use cessation, The Lancet (November 2020, accessed 20 November 2020). [3] Ibid. [4] Ibid. [5] Ibid. [6] Global Adult Tobacco Survey. [7] Ibid. [8] Ibid. [9] Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco, DOH, PPS push for tobacco cessation, cites Covid-19 risks, BusinessMirror (November 11, 2020, accessed November 20, 2020). [10] Ibid. DNF - For a Zero Tobacco World |