Barely one week ago on March 8, as the coronavirus pandemic took over American broadcasters print news front pages, Mayor Bill de Blasio of NYC took the stage to speak to city residents about the virus and the disease it causes, called COVID-19.
The people that are especially at risk, said the mayor, are those with lung disease, heart disease, cancer, compromised immune systems, or diabetes. Those conditions, he said, place people infected with coronavirus “in danger of a very bad medical outcome.”
De Blasio then said that “we do know that smoking and vaping makes it easier for the disease to have more negative impact on a person’s body. It’s not the same as a pre-existing condition, but it is an important factor in the equation as well.” Noting that children have been largely spared from the most severe symptoms of the disease, he added again that “smoking and vaping is a real issue.”
“If you are a smoker or a vaper that does make you more vulnerable,” de Blasio repeated. “If you are a smoker or a vaper this is a very good time to stop that habit and we will help you.”
Is the mayor right? Does vaping (or smoking) make you more likely to catch the virus, and more prone to severe outcomes if you do? And what about the long-held belief among vapers that the anti-microbial effects of propylene glycol can protect users from viruses and bacterial infections?
Does vaping make you susceptible to coronavirus?
Unfortunately, the answer isn’t clear. Multiple studies that purport to show that vaping causes suppressed immune functions or an increased susceptibility to infections are based on experiments with mice or disembodied cells, and don’t necessarily translate to human vapers.
Further, it’s hard to detect problems that might be caused by vaping in human subjects, because the vast majority of vapers have a history of smoking. Even if vaping does have a negative effect on immune response, lung function, or other biological processes, it could be hidden by more pronounced effects caused by past smoking.
We could probably get a good idea of whether vaping suppresses immune functions by designing a large study that follows two groups—one vapers, and the other non-vapers—living in similar conditions, and measure how often both catch colds or flu, and how long it takes them to recover. The coronavirus outbreak itself may provide a vehicle to study vapers and smokers and contrast their outcomes with non-vapers and non-smokers.
The bottom line is that broad claims about vaping making a user more likely to be infected by the new coronavirus, or to suffer worse outcomes from it, are not based on research. Most likely, anti-vaping politicians or activists are simply using their pulpits to scare people away from e-cigarettes—as usual. The result of that will not be a mass exodus from consumer nicotine products, but rather more smoking, and more disease and death.
Cardiologist and vaping researcher Konstantinos Farsalinos published a blog about vaping and the coronavirus this week. His conclusion? “There is no evidence on any effects of e-cigarettes on coronavirus infectivity and disease progression, and we cannot exclude the possibility that the use of propylene glycol might have some beneficial effects.”
So, does PG stop vapers from getting sick? We still don’t know. Bottom line: it might. It definitely can kill bacteria and viruses. The trick, it seems, might be hitting the microbes at just the right moment with the right amount of PG. That might be difficult, although if you vape regularly you’re probably going to kill some pathogens—but not necessarily in a predictable or reliable way.
It may be that the greatest advantage of vaping is that you’re not smoking cigarettes, which of course is the whole point—and a big benefit indeed.
Vvapour have been established as one of the vape industries longest running providers of quality eliqiuds, merchandise and information since 2011, and trading since 2012. We can help anyone from seasoned vapers, to those starting out and wanting to kick the habit of traditional smoking. The company CEO created Vvapour primarily to help people stop smoking following the death of a close, rather than as a profit building business. Get in touch for any information and advice o anything vape related. Either email us on:
info@vvapour.co.uk
or call us on:
0121 272 7132
or you can also live chat us on the website (lower left chat box icon) between 9am and 5pm.
www.vvapour.co.uk
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