Dr. Ali Özeren said in Chinese publications (1): "The risk of developing pneumonia due to COVID-19 was found to be 15 times higher in smokers who contracted COVID-19."
"CIGARETTES SUPPRESS THE WORKING OF CILIA"
Noting that it is a known fact that cigarette and e-cigarette use causes infection in the lungs and suppression of the immune system to some extent, Dr. Ali Özeren said, "Cigarettes cause inflammation in the respiratory tract. Cilia make it difficult for the hair-like mechanism called cilia to work. These cilia cover the entire respiratory tract and work in the opposite direction of the respiratory route, allowing the particles that enter the body with the air, are held by mucus, and are expelled through phlegm, to move towards the mouth and nose. Smoking adds extra weight to these cilia. "It puts a load on it and makes it difficult to work. This makes it difficult to clean the respiratory tract and lungs," he said.
During respiratory tract infection in the lungs, cigarettes and e-cigarettes also damage the structure of white blood cells called "neutrophils", which are responsible for clearing the infection. Dr. Ali Özeren stated that "During microbiology and immunology research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, it was determined that the chances of survival of mice vaccinated with streptococcal bacteria and influenza virus after being exposed to e-cigarette smoke were significantly reduced. (2) It is estimated that this is caused by cigarette and e-cigarette smoke preventing the functioning of white blood cells called neutrophils. "Suppressing the work of these immune cells working in the respiratory tract facilitates the development of many respiratory diseases, especially COVID-19," he said.
Harvard University Immunology Specialist Prof. Dr. Derya Unutmaz also said, "China ' and 80-85% of Coronavirus deaths in America are smokers and 90% of recovered patients are non-smokers... The damage of the coronavirus in smokers is 15 times greater than in a normal person. It will be very beneficial if you leave it alone. Smokers urgently need to quit smoking. Otherwise, intensive care and other treatments do not have much of an effect on these people. WE ARE JUST WAITING FOR THEM TO DIE. " he said (3)
"The protein on which the virus is attached is more active in smokers"
Research conducted at ChapelHill has shown that e-cigarette use affects immune and inflammatory response genes in the nasal cells. Dr. Ali Özeren stated that it suppresses the activity even more than smoking and said, "As it is known, the virus called SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19 disease and is popularly known as "Corona virus", is activated most easily by attaching to a protein called ACE2 in the body. According to research, this suppression we mentioned has revealed that the gene encoding the ACE2 protein, which the coronavirus uses to infect cells, is more active in smokers than in non-smokers. (4) Of course, none of these studies can clearly predict the extent to which smoking will affect the current epidemic. However, considering that cigarettes and e-cigarettes seriously damage the immune system, it would not be wrong to assume that they can make Coronavirus infections worse. The damage that cigarettes and e-cigarettes do to the respiratory tract and lungs is known. Therefore, although quitting smoking and e-cigarette use is always a very important action, it is especially important during the Covid-19 global epidemic that has ravaged the whole world.
Also, the ACE inhibitor shared on social media and groups It is nothing more than a rumor that blood pressure medications, which we call ARBs, are harmful. He concluded his words by saying, "There is absolutely no scientific evidence and no patient should give up on a treatment that has been proven to be beneficial (5)."
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