INCIDENCE OF COVID-19 INFECTION AMONG SMOKERS IN KIRKUK, IRAQ
Goljameen Midhat Abdulla and Ozdan Akram Ghareeb*
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It subsequently spread throughout the world, causing a global pandemic. Smoking affects the lungs and is therefore considered to increase the risk of respiratory infections and COVID-19 and cause more severe symptoms. In this cross-sectional study participated 100 workers in privet medical laboratories in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, during the period between December 2021 and February 2022. The results showed that the percentage of smokers infected with COVID-19 reached 70% among them. Thus, we have concluded that there is a strong possibility that smoking is a risk factor for contracting this infection.
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