HK squashes SARS smoking 'cure'
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Rumors that smoking prevents SARS have spread rapidly across China.
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Suspect case: A person who develops high fever (greater than 38 C / 100.4 F) and respiratory symptoms such as cough, breathing difficulty or shortness of breath, within 10 days of
1) having had close contact with a person who is a suspect or probable case of SARS.
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HONG KONG, China -- As the SARS virus spreads in Hong Kong and China, remedies and rumors about how to avoid contracting the disease are on the increase.
Turnips, vinegar and now even smoking have been suggested as possible preventatives against the deadly outbreak.
Alarmed at the increase in such rumors Hong Kong's Health Department moved Friday to squash the idea, releasing a tersely worded statement saying that rumors of smoking preventing atypical pneumonia were "totally unfounded."
A health department spokesman said smoking not only weakens immunity, but increases the risk of SARS as a smoker repeatedly touches their nose and mouth, increasing the chance of transmission.
He added that protection from the virus is further reduced as surgical facemasks, now commonly worn in Hong Kong, are removed while smoking.
The basis for the rumors is unclear, however according to an article in the South China Morning Post, one theory doing the rounds is based on the notion that smoked meat does not spoil as easily as raw meat.
The Hong Kong newspaper reported that some people say there were few smokers amongst the cases reported in Guangdong, the province in southern China where the disease originated, which further fuelled the rumors.
The Post said many smokers in mainland China had upped their cigarette consumption in response to the rumors, with many others actually taking up the habit.
Over 300 million people in China are smokers, with an annual death toll from smoking-related diseases thought to be around 750,000 a year.
China added a further probable SARS 25 cases on Friday, now with a total of 1482 cumulative cases. There have been 65 SARS deaths reported in China.
