The government enforced confinement was an opportunity for many to quit smoking During the pandemic programmes at various hospitals also helped many stop smoking said Dr Rao adding I have specifically seen how it caused smokers to lose access to cigarettes However I also noticed a small population of people whose addiction to smoking grew because of isolation and boredom triggered by the lockdown Dr Sachin Kumar senior consultant pulmonology critical care medicine Sakra World Hospital said some of the effects of smoking such as coughing created a positive impact on both light and heavy smokers who quit the habit for good In April and May we witnessed three or four such cases a week where the patients complained of persistent cough due to smoking About 50 of the patients we treated were ready to quit smoking following the symptoms he said In the second wave 20 of smokers among the patients faced complications due to Covid 19 In third wave every week we saw on average four cases of smokers facing Covid related issues
