It’s something that most smokers do without thinking twice, but the ‘innocent’ act of sharing a lighter may have helped to fuel the spread of coronavirus.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has blamed the act for some of the spread of the deadly bug in Victoria.
He said: “Not a wilful breach of anything but one of those things where an apparently innocent thing can lead to transmitting the virus. That is how wildly infectious this is.”
Meanwhile, Andrews added that carpooling could have also led to the spread of the virus.
He said: “There also seems to have been some likelihood that some carpooling arrangements between staff may well have meant that they were in closer contact than you would like.”
While Andrews suggests that sharing lighters may have increased the spread of the virus, it remains unclear whether or not smoking increases your risk of catching the bug.
Some studies have suggested that smoking actually decreases your risk of Covid-19, although the World Health Organisation says there’s insufficient information to confirm this link.
It explained: “COVID-19 is an infectious disease that primarily attacks the lungs.
"Smoking impairs lung function making it harder for the body to fight off coronaviruses and other diseases.
“Tobacco is also a major risk factor for noncommunicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and diabetes which put people with these conditions at higher risk for developing severe illness when affected by COVID-19.
“Available research suggests that smokers are at higher risk of developing severe disease and death.”
