There has never been a more important time for you to stop smoking with growing evidence showing that if you smoke you are more likely to suffer severe symptoms of Covid-19.

The good news for smokers if that if they give up now, they will boost their body’s chances of recovering from the virus.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic thousands of smokers across Wales have made the decision to give up the habit. According to analysis by ASH and University College London an estimated one million smokers in the UK had quit within the first few months of the pandemic, including 33,000 Welsh smokers. Fears over the impact of the virus were a major driver for those quitting, with 41% surveyed in the UK citing Covid-19 as their main reason for giving up.

These quitters had good reason to be concerned about the impact of the virus. We know that smokers who contract Covid-19 suffer more severe symptoms. This is because smokers already have weakened lung defences as a result of smoking damaging the cells protecting their nose and upper and lower airways.

Recently Data from the COVID Symptom Study app involving more than 3 million people from the UK, Sweden and US, found that  current smokers were 14% more likely to develop the three classic symptoms of coronavirus infection – fever, persistent cough and shortness of breath – than non-smokers.

Smokers were also 29% more likely to report more than five symptoms associated with COVID-19 and 50% more likely to report more than 10, including loss of smell, skipping meals, tiredness, diarrhoea, confusion or muscle pain. In addition, smokers were more than twice as likely as non-smokers to end up in hospital with severe symptoms of COVID-19 having tested positive for the disease.

Smoking is also a leading cause of cardiovascular, respiratory and cancer conditions that put patients are higher risk if they catch the virus.

Giving up smoking now really is the best decision you can make to protect your health and the health of your family who are more at risk from being exposed to second hand smoke

When you give up smoking, the body begins to repair itself, your lung health improves and your immune system is strengthened giving you a better chance of recovering from the virus.

It’s never too late to quit and even life long heavy smokers can benefit from giving up.  For many smokers Covid-19 has been a wake-up call and we would urge anyone who wants to quit to call the NHS Wales Help Me Quit helpline.

Help Me Quit is a free smoking cessation service run by NHS Wales and throughout the pandemic it has been providing support to smokers who want to give up through its helpline. The Help Me Quit advisors will talk you through the different options there are for giving up and help you to find the one that suits you best.

Research has shown that you’re far more likely to quit for good if you seek support so pick up the phone and find out what help is available.