Prevent Swine Flu, Quit Smoking

Categories: Smoking
      Date: May 30, 2009
     Title: Prevent Swine Flu, Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to avoid catching or dying of influenza.

Hong Kong's Xinhua News Agency reported May 25th, 2009, that in view of the A/H1N1 influenza (swine flu) outbreak, the Department of Health there is urging smokers to quit the habit.

A Health spokesman called quitting smoking one of the best preventive measures against influenza.

"Research studies show a higher risk of influenza infections among smokers when compared with non-smokers," he said.

"Also, the mortality rate of influenza among smokers is higher than that of non-smokers," said the spokesman.

Adopting healthy lifestyles and maintaining good personal hygiene are also effective measures to prevent influenza, he added.

Evidence linking smoking to catching and/or having worse symptoms from the flu has been found in research around the world. In 1982 the New England Journal of Medicine published a study conducted among Israel soldiers. The study of 336 healthy young men found smoking increased risk of flu: 68.5 percent of the smokers got it, while only 47.2 percent of nonsmokers did.