Concerns about the connection between vaping and COVID-19 have existed since the beginning of the pandemic. The connection made sense because COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory illness that is spread by contaminated droplets, but until now, there hasn’t been any formal research on the subject in the US.
The long-suspected link between e-cigarette use and COVID-19 risk was confirmed by a new study that was released on Tuesday in the Journal of Adolescent Health. 4,351 participants between the ages of 13 and 24 were gathered by Stanford University researchers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories.
The participants responded to a series of survey-style questions, including whether they had ever used vaporizers or combustible cigarettes, whether they had smoked or vaped within the previous 30 days, and whether they had ever experienced COVID-19 symptoms, had the condition tested for, or had been diagnosed with it.
The survey’s data revealed a correlation between COVID-19 infections and e-cigarette use as well as use of both e- and traditional cigarettes. Researchers discovered that teens and young adults who vaped had a five-fold increased risk of receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis compared to non-vapers.
Additionally, a person’s likelihood of passing the test increased seven times if they smoked both conventional cigarettes and e-cigarettes. According to the study, testing for COVID-19 was nine times more likely to occur in dual users of e-cigarettes in the past 30 days than in non-users, and it was almost three times more likely in e-cigarette only users.