WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement released on Saturday said that smoking tobacco can lead up to a 50 per cent higher risk of developing severe disease and death from Covid-19.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement on WHO's 'Commit to Quit' tobacco campaign said smokers can develop cancer, heart diseases, and respiratory illnesses from the coronavirus.
“We urge all countries to play their part by joining the WHO campaign and creating tobacco-free environments that give people the information, support, and tools they need to quit and quit for good,” he said.
Under the year-long ‘Commit to Quit’ campaign, WHO has provided free resources from it quitting toolkit. More than a billion users have accessed the toolkit in less than 5 months.
Tedro’s statement has come a year after India had made a similar observation on the relation between smoking and Covid-19.
The health ministry had said experts had confirmed that smokers stood at greater risk to develop severe symptoms or die from Covid-19.
