The department of chemistry, in collaboration with the continuing education unit at the college of science has recently organized a seminar on “The relationship between smoking and Covid-19” delivered by Assist. Prof. Dr. Ali Waleed Numan in the presence of a number of students, researchers and medical professionals. The aim of this event is to review the impact of smoking on the development of symptoms of Covid-19 pandemic and the widespread debate in the academic community about the role of smoking in the deterioration of the condition of people suffering from this dangerous virus, where the lecturer asserted that scientific research has shown that smoking increases the likelihood of the need for intensive care or death compared to non-smokers when infected with Covid-19 variants.
Dr. Ali Waleed also tried to shed light on the risks of smoking including chronic lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, stroke and cancer of all kinds and its repercussions on the body’s immune response against viruses or bacteria, pointing out that both smoking and the use of e-cigarettes weaken the body’s defenses and reduce its natural ability to fight infection in young people and adults, pointing out that cilia which are microtubule-based hair-like organelles that extend from the surface of almost all cell types of the human body acting as cellular antennae to sense environmental cues and they help to protect the body by expelling bacteria, viruses and other toxic substances, revealing that smoking can temporarily paralyze these cilia, leading to a difficulty in fighting viruses and bacteria.
