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As the government highlights the risks to smokers from Covid-19, health professionals have joined forces in calling on smokers to #QuitforCovid. “It is abundantly clear from the research into previous coronaviruses that smoking makes the impact of a coronavirus worse,” said secretary of state for health and social care, Matt Hancock MP, in the House of Commons this month. This echoes the advice of the chief medical officer during a health and social care select committee meeting, who said: “If you are going to give up smoking, this is a very good moment to do it.”
GP Dr Charlie Kenward from Bristol is urging his patients to #QuitforCovid. He said: “I was in surgery talking to a mother with her nine-year-old son. She works as a carer so I asked if she was worried about the virus. She said she was worried about catching it because she is a smoker. I asked her why not quit? She looked at her son who looked back at her and nodded. This is something all smokers can do now so that’s why I’m asking smokers to #QuitforCovid.”
Dr Kenward is part of the team helping to plan the coronavirus response for Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. He added: “We are doing everything we can to keep people as safe and healthy as possible through this crisis. Stopping smoking also helps improve heart and lung conditions, wound healing and many other health conditions which will all carry on at the same time as Covid-19. Stopping smoking remains the single most effective thing people can do to improve their and their family’s health both now and in the future.”
Source: Bristol 24/7, 26 March 2020
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US: Analysts say big tobacco is 'recession proof'
Jefferies analysts called big tobacco "recession proof" this week and said they don't expect people to stop smoking amid the coronavirus outbreak. The analysts said they don’t expect smokers to change their behaviour despite warnings around COVID-19, the upper respiratory disease caused by coronavirus. The analysts claim the outbreak could actually encourage more smoking, as people confined to their homes struggle with boredom and depression and recommended British American Tobacco for investors this week.
Source: Business Insider, 25 March 2020
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Health Foundation: Public health and COVID-19 virtual hackathon
Dr Yannish Naik, Senior Policy Fellow at the Health Foundation, has invited public health professionals to join a virtual hackathon to discuss and develop ideas on the role for public health interventions, such as smoking cessation, to tackle the coronavirus crisis:
"Are you a public health person, data specialist, or comms wizard? Join a virtual hackathon today, Friday 27th March from 2pm to help develop guesstimates of how smoking cessation and 20mph zones could #lowerthebaseline need for healthcare at this important time!"
To join the virtual hackathon today at 2pm, you should directly message Dr Naik on Twitter: https://twitter.com/healthyyan
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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