Do e-cigarettes increase the risk of taking the new coronavirus?

Using e-cigarettes no longer leaves you vulnerable to the new coronavirus. A group of British scientists have worked to refute speculation against vaping, mostly from the US. Now, to clarify, a new study published in the Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, titled “E-cigarette use is not associated with a COVID-19 diagnosis.” It was conducted by five researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, and coordinated by Ivana T. Croghan. The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis that e-cigarette use is associated with an increased risk of Sars-cov-2 infection.

The sample used included nearly 70,000 smoker or vaping patients (69,264) who sought help at the Mayo Clinic between September 15, 2019, and November 30, 2020. The observation period was therefore longer than one year. In fact, since mid-September, physicians have begun recording patients’ current or past use of e-cigarettes as a clinical routine. The mean age of the sample was 51.5 years, and more than half (62.1%) were women. 11.1% were smokers or vapers, and 5.1% tested positive for Sars-cov-2.

The results are reassuring. Compared to generality, the study noted that “patients who use e-cigarettes alone are less likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19”. In other words, the authors again noted that e-cigarettes “do not appear to increase susceptibility to Sars-cov-2 infection.” The work also confirms a fact that has emerged since March 2020: smokers have a reduced risk of contracting the disease, while dual users have an intermediate risk. In addition to dispelling remaining doubts about e-cigarettes, the data support the hypothesis that “any beneficial effect of conventional smoking on susceptibility is not mediated by nicotine,” the researchers said. The Mayo Clinic will conduct further research to assess whether e-cigarette use can mitigate the consequences of the new coronavirus.