Many people are taking all the precautions that they can to not catch coronavirus.
Some marijuana users will not be thrilled to learn that smoking even a small amount of cannabis could increase their risk of catching the respiratory virus.
According to the warnings of doctors, marijuana causes inflammation in the lungs which could significantly reduce your ability to fight Covid-19.
American Lung Association (ALA) experts have issued a warning about people smoking cannabis during the coronavirus outbreak.
Pulmonologist Dr Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association, told CNN: “What happens to your airways when you smoke cannabis is that it causes some degree of inflammation, very similar to bronchitis, very similar to the type of inflammation that cigarette smoking can cause.
“Now you have some airway inflammation and you get an infection on top of it. So, yes, your chance of getting more complications is there.”
According to the ALA, smoking cannabis will also make it more difficult for a doctor to diagnose your Covid-19 symptoms.
This is because a dry cough is a key sign of Covid-19, and any cough caused by smoking cannabis could mimic that symptom.
Dr Mitchell Glass, a pulmonologist and spokesperson for the American Lung Association, remarked, “You don’t want to do anything that’s going to confound the ability of healthcare workers to make a rapid, accurate assessment of what’s going on with you.”
Public Health England (PHE) has said that even puffing cigarettes can also put family members at higher risk of Covid-19 too.
Professor John Newton, PHE’s director of health, said “there has never been a more important time to stop smoking, not only for your own health but to protect those around you”.
