Stanford Study: Vaping Teens, Young Adults 7 Times More Vulnerable to COVID-19
New Stanford-led research has now linked teenagers who vape to an elevated risk of COVID-19 infection. Vaping has become a public health crisis that claimed multiple lives with some states and cities warning against it.
According to the Stanford University School of Medicine, research is the first one to examine the connection between vaping and COVID-19. The study was published on August 11, 2020, in the peer-reviewed Journal of Adolescent Health. The study’s senior author, Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, PhD, professor Pediatrics said:
“Teens and young adults need to know that if you use e-cigarettes, you are likely at immediate risk of COVID-19 because you are damaging your lungs.”
More Likely To Get Infection
The report states that teenagers and young adults who vape are up to five times more likely to contract coronavirus compared to those who did e-cigarettes. The youth who vape in addition to smoking traditional cigarettes are seven times more likely to get an infection. The study’s lead author Shivani Mathur Gaiha stated:
“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.”
COVID-19 Related Symptoms
The Stanford researchers covered over 4,300 respondents aged between 13 and 24 years who live all over the country plus the District of Columbia and three other U.S. territories. The team adjusted the results to cover confounding factors, including age, sex, race, ethnicity, LGBTQ status, education. Others were body mass index, compliance with shelter-in-place orders and state positivity rates for COVID-19.
The participants were asked whether they had ever used combustible cigarettes or vaping devices and whether they had vaped or smoked during the preceding 30 days. They were also asked whether they had experienced COVID-19 related symptoms and if they had tested or received a positive diagnosis for the disease.
According to experts, there may be several reasons why vapers are at a higher transmission risk. E-cigarettes can impair the lungs and tamper with the immune system, creating an environment that makes coronavirus exposure more likely to trigger an infection.
Now is The Time
Halpern-Felsher opined that the aerosol emitted from e-cigarettes might have had droplets containing the coronavirus, which was easier to spread to someone else or have the same person re-inhale it into their lungs. The vaping social norms, such as passing e-cigarettes between friends and hand-to-mouth contact, are high-risk behaviours. As per related CPVID-19 studies, the research found that the lower socio-economic status and Hispanic or multiracial ethnicity created a higher risk of being diagnosed with the disease.
Besides warning teenagers and young adults about the dangers of vaping, the researchers hope their findings will trigger some action. They would love the Food and Drug Administration to promptly tighten regulations governing how vaping products are sold to young people. Halpern-Felsher said:
“Now is the time […] 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 diseases.”