questionText: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) smoking and (b) passive smoking on the risk of invasive meningococcal disease.
answerText: There is established evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke increases the risk of meningococcal disease. Tobacco smoking increases the risk of meningococcal carriage and meningococcal disease by damaging the nasopharyngeal mucosa and suppressing immune r...
heading: Meningitis: Smoking