As the human to human transmitting COVID-19 virus has been rampantly spreading across the country by making people with co-morbidities and geriatric people more vulnerable to get exposed to the infection, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has now revealed that the smokers are likely becoming more vulnerable to the global pandemic, as smoking would be a gateway for the virus and for main non-communicable diseases which would, in turn, cause a larger exposure to the viral infection.

Through the shocking development, the Union Health Ministry has issued a warning on Wednesday by stating that the act of smoking makes the fingers and possibly contaminated cigarettes to have direct contact with the mouth, which would further increase the possibility of the virus getting transmitted from the hand to mouth, through which the virus would certainly enters into the body. 

Along with that, smoking weakens the lungs which brings more worry to the smokers as the COVID-19 virus would primarily attack the lungs. According to the Health Ministry, smokers are more likely to develop severe symptoms or succumb to the viral infection. Adding with cigarettes, smoking products such as water pipes or hookah would majorly involve a sharing of the hoses and mouth which would further transmit the virus. 

The two-page advisory issued by the Health Ministry said that products like cigarettes, tobacco, pan masala, and e-cigarettes would increase the risk and severity of pulmonary infections. It further warned the smokers and tobacco users that they are living at a high risk of witnessing severe illness when they contracted to the virus as smoking would decrease the immune power and would further play an important role in causing four main Non-Communicable diseases (NCD). 

These four NCDs include cancer, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and cardiovascular disease. When smokers get affected by any one of these NCDs, they would face a high risk in combating the COVID-19 infection, if they get infected as these NCDs would be comorbidities which would lessen the antibodies to counter the foreign pathogens inside the body. 

The Health Ministry said that the NCDs are accounting for about 63% of all deaths in India and it's also feared to grow further. It further stated that the use of tobacco would be a high-risk factor for many respiratory infections and increased the severity of respiratory diseases and smoking would eventually worsen the lung function and as a sequel, it would reduce the immunity and make riskier for the body in combating various infections and diseases.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that there has been emerging evidence that smoking has increased the risk for COVID-19 and it has deteriorated the outcome in smokers who get contracted to the virus and he further stated that drinking alcohol would also increase the risk factor by reducing the immunity, which is one of the imperative factors in fighting against the COVID-19 infection.