Smokers who get Covid are 80 per cent more likely to be admitted to hospital than those who don't touch cigarettes, a study claimed today.
The research, by Oxford University, paints a clearer picture on the confused topic of smoking and coronavirus.
At the start of the pandemic, scientists were baffled by data which showed smokers were less likely to be hospitalised with the virus. Some analyses even suggested they faced a smaller risk of getting infected in the first place.
But the new study, based on more than 420,000 patients, found smokers were much more likely to fall seriously ill if they got infected.
However, it didn't look at whether smokers were less likely to test positive in the first place.
Experts claimed the 'respiratory pandemic' was likely an ideal moment to focus on quitting smoking.
Around 6.9million Britons smoke, but more than half have already said they want to quit. In the US there are 34.1million smokers.
Covid-infected smokers are more likely to be hospitalised or die than those that have never smoked, research suggests. It comes after other papers at the start of the pandemic suggested the opposite was the case (stock image)
Results of the study showed that among nearly 14,000 smokers, there were 51 Covid admissions. This was equivalent to one in 270 being hospitalised.
There were also up to 36 deaths, equating to one in 384 succumbing to the virus.
For comparison, among the 250,000 non-smokers there were 440 hospitalisations, equivalent to one in almost 600.
Researchers added there were a further 159 Covid deaths, equivalent to one in 1,666.
