Smokers were never protected from Covid

theconversation.com

19 points·CTOSian··5 comments

The article doesn't seem to specify any difference between plain tobacco, consumer cigarette, or marijuana smokers. The [linked study](https://thorax.bmj.com/content/early/2021/09/12/thoraxjnl-20...) doesn't seem to clarify, either.

I'm curious if there is a difference between the three.

It's consumer cigarettes, almost entirely.

It's a UK study. The question would have been "What is your smoking history?". In the most basic case, there would be three options: "Never smoked", "Historically, but quit", "Active smoker". More advanced surveys would have examined the volume of smoking and how long ago you quit.

Marijuana is illegal in the UK, and the NHS does not typically ask questions about current drug use. Occasionally they will ask for drug use history, but the question "Do you currently smoke marijuana?" will simply not be in the vocabulary of the average doctor.

There aren't really any appropriate stratifications for UK tobacco smokers. Almost everyone who smokes uses either packaged cigarettes or self rolled. This division is strongly correlated with income. The self-rolled crowd always use filters.

The NHS does ask for current drug use if it's appropriate. I've definitely recently been asked when taking medication if I'm taking any illegal drugs. If there's a risk of interaction with the medication, they'll ask

Yes, but the question is about recent drug use, rather than whether you are an active user. Obviously active use implies recent use, but not vice versa. They wouldn't ask if you use a specific drug, outside alcohol and tobacco.

>Compared with never-smokers, current smokers had higher risks of hospitalisation (...) and mortality

Is there any data regarding smoke-quitters?

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