Researchers are looking into the role that secondhand smoke poses in terms of spreading COVID-19. People are also wondering if secondhand smoke can indeed propagate the spread of the disease, especially when inhaled within close proximity.
While it has not been believed that secondhand smoke directly spreads the virus, experts expressed concern that as they exhale and release smoke, they also blow out droplets which carry the virus.
Smokers at risk for COVID-19
It has been established that smokers are more at risk of contracting COVID-19, especially some of the most severe cases due to the health of their lungs. However, some of them may also carry the virus without them knowing, or the so-called asymptomatic cases. Due to this, the risk of transmitting the virus through the droplets that they exhale while smoking also increases.
According to a research published in Environmental Science and Technology, virus which is dispersed in the air through coughs, sneezes, and second-hand exhalations can land on surfaces and survive for hours. Thus, this may also increase the transmission of viruses such as COVID-19.
In addition, the said research also stated that as secondhand smoke dissipates, it settles on surfaces and dust which becomes thirdhand smoke.
Thirdhand smoke then clings on to surfaces, such as clothes, walls, beddings, even one's hair long after the smoking ended. And since COVID-19 can also be transmitted through fomites, the surfaces in which the thirdhand smoke clung onto after secondhand smoke dissipated may also harbor the virus, Salud America reported.
This also increases the risk of infection for people who come in close contact with smokers since secondhand smoke may cling onto their own clothes and become a third-hand path of transmission without them knowing. They may get infected by inhaling the droplets that have been blown out by the smoker or through fomites, which are inanimate objects where the virus thrives.
According to the Associated Press, people should always be aware of people smoking near them especially during the time of a pandemic. It was also stated that the main way that SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, spreads is through respiratory droplets which can be dispersed when talking, sneezing, or coughing. The same thing also happens when smokers exhale or when they are vaping.
According to the American Lung Association's chief medical officer, Dr. Albert Rizo, smokers are not only possibly spreading the virus through not wearing masks, they are also blowing out the droplets which may carry the virus to the people around.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also advised that inhaling secondhand smoke should be avoided. The organization has also emphasized that secondhand smoke does not only help propagate COVID-19 but can also cause serious health problems.
The novel coronavirus continues to spread all over the world. Several nations have already seen a resurgence of the virus in their borders after easing on some measures. Thus, it is very important that each one is careful not to expose themselves to the virus that has killed hundreds of thousands worldwide.
