Smokers more at risk of serious illness from Covid

Almost one in four deaths of men and 7.5% among women in Greece are caused by smoking, which experts believe aggravates the adverse impact of Covid. 

According to the National Public Health Organization (EODY), smokers are up to 1.4 times more likely to develop severe symptoms from Covid and up to 2.4 times more likely to be admitted to intensive care and require mechanical respiratory support, or even to die. 

The data was presented by experts of the Hellenic Cardiological Society and the Hellenic Pulmonary Society on the occasion of World No Smoking Day, which this year focuses on the effects of cigarettes on the environment.

Stylianos Loukidis, president of the Pulmonary Society, described smoking as a pandemic crisis that “has lasted for a century, claiming lives, burdening health systems, public health in general and the environment.”