Vaping is linked to a substantially increased risk of COVID-19 among teenagers and young adults, according to a new study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, experts have warned that the coronavirus most likely capitalizes on the scarred lung tissue of smokers and vapers. Researchers are just starting to pinpoint the ways in which the use of e-cigarettes raises the chances of catching the virus and suffering its worst effects.
“I have no doubt in saying that smoking and vaping could put people at increased risk of poor outcomes from Covid-19,” Dr. Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, a pediatric pulmonologist at Columbia University told The New York Times. “It is quite clear that smoking and vaping are bad for the lungs, and the predominant symptoms of Covid are respiratory. Those two things are going to be bad in combination.”
While several studies have found that smoking can more than double a person’s risk of severe Covid-19 symptoms, the data on the relationship between vaping and Covid-19 are only beginning to emerge. A team of researchers recently reported that young adults who vape are five to seven times more likely to receive a coronavirus diagnosis.
“Young people may believe their age protects them from contracting the virus or that they will not experience symptoms of COVID-19, but the data show this isn’t true among those who vape,” said the study’s lead author, postdoctoral scholar Shivani Mathur Gaiha, PhD.
Much of what underlies the relationship between smoking, vaping and the coronavirus remains unclear. Doctors aren’t sure why vaping makes some people seriously sick but seems to spare others. These and other lingering questions have made the risks of smoking and vaping during the pandemic tough to communicate.
About 34 million adults smoke cigarettes in the United States, many of them from communities of color and low socioeconomic status — groups already known to be more vulnerable to the virus. And more than 5 million middle and high school students recently reported using vapes.
In addition to warning teenagers and young adults about the dangers of vaping, the researchers hope their findings will prompt the Food and Drug Administration to further tighten regulations governing how vaping products are sold to young people.
“Now is the time,” Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, the study’s senior author said. “We need the FDA to hurry up and regulate these products. And we need to tell everyone: If you are a vaper, you are putting yourself at risk for COVID-19 and other lung disease.”
https://healthmatters.nyp.org/vaping-and-covid-19-can-vaping-increase-complications/