No Proof That Smokers, Vegetarians Less Likely to Contract COVID-19

Several media reports recently came out quoting a CSIR survey that has gone viral on social media after it claimed that smokers and vegetarians are less susceptible to COVID-19.

According to an India.com report, ever since the second wave of COVID-19 caused chaos in India, a lot of false rumors and misinformation have appeared online.

Specifically, reports said, the CSIR survey suggested that despite COVID-19 being identified as a respiratory illness, smoking may be shielding because of its function in increasing the production of mucous that may be acting the initial line of defense among the smokers.

The survey also indicated that vegetarian food filled with fiber may have a vital role to play in providing immunity from the deadly virus.

Clarification from Press Information Bureau

Amidst the viral news, on Monday, the Press Information Bureau while quoting CSIR made it clear that at present, no conclusion can be drawn yet based on the "serological studies" that smoking and vegetarian diet may shield one from COVID-19. The CSIR on the other hand said that it has not released or issued any press note regarding the claim

On its Twitter post, PIB wrote that media reports claim that the CSIR survey reveals that smokers, as well as vegetarians, are less susceptible to COVID-19.

PIB's Fact Check, the bureau also tweeted, showed that at present, no conclusion could be drawn, based on serological research that, as earlier mentioned, smoking and a vegetarian diet may shield a person from this infectious disease.

The negative link with smoking, CSIR clarified, has been reported somewhere else, although not presented to be causative.

CSIR also said that further investigation is needed before it reaches any conclusions, especially since the so-called 'seropositivity' is an inadequate indicator of infection risk and may, in the same way, be explained by modified antibody reaction and dynamics.

Link Between Smoking and COVID-19

In June 2020, The World Health Organization reported that the dangers of tobacco use are well-established.

The same report also said that tobacco causes eight million fatalities each year from lung disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and cancers.

In addition, tobacco smoking is a known risk factor as well for severe illness and death from several respiratory infections.

In this pandemic, questions have been asked about the clinical results for the smoking population and if they are equally vulnerable to the contagion, and if nicotine comprises any biological impact on SARS-CoV-2 virus, a type of COVID-19-causing coronavirus.

One clinical trial that tested the impacts of nicotine was announced, although no trial registration record was identified as of May last year.

In this particular WHO report, the researchers concluded that smoking is linked to increased severity of the illness and death in COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospital.

Even though likely associated with severity, no evidence had been presented to measure the danger to smokers of hospital admission with COVID-19 was identified in the peer-reviewed literature.

PIB Fact-Checking Arm

A similar Zee News report said the PIB launched its fact-checking arm in 2019 to control fake news and misinformation prevailing online. It claimed that its objective was to determine misinformation associated with the policies and schemes of the government that are circulating on different social media platforms.

The government has frequently cautioned people about such misinformation and urged them to believe only trusted sources of information.

A related report is shown on TNIE Videos' YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 on Science Times.