A new study has found shocking revelations regarding young vape users between the ages of 13 to 24. This group of people is at five times the high risk of COVID-19 than other teenagers who don’t smoke or use vape.
This risk further increases to seven percent more if they also smoke cigarettes in addition to vape. Vape and cigarettes both are recreational smoking products which reportedly make the lungs weak which is why the risk to contract coronavirus becomes high.
This is the first-ever study that has investigated the association between using certain devices and the cases of coronavirus in young people. Interestingly the research team was unable to find any connection between young smokers and the high risk of coronavirus.
This study is published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
This study overall has brought attention to a largely ignored factor that could explain the high COVID-19 cases in youngsters. The research team from Stanford University assumes that a majority of these people who smoke cigarettes also use vape. People who use only cigarettes. Irrespective of the smoking product, both are at five to seven times a high risk of COVID-19.
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A large number of teenagers think that they won’t get the virus because it is less likely to affect younger people. However, it is wrong and misleading, says Dr. Shivani Mathur Gaih, the lead researcher and the study author.
This study is proof that young people who are on vape, e-cigarettes, conventional cigarettes, or all of them are at five times the high risk of COVID-19. And this is not something that anyone can ignore.
This risk is calculated after going through the details of 4,351 participants through an online survey. All of them were between 13 to 24 years of age and living in the US.
People are interested to know that who is more likely to get this infection but they are not ready to accept it if they are a part of any such group. Dr Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a certified pediatrician says that people with weaker lungs due to any reason are at a high risk of getting infected. Instead of denying it, they should admit it and do something to avoid it.
Those who have quit smoking long ago are also at risk but somehow their risk is lesser than this study’s findings. The danger still persists because of the damage done to the lungs. Anyone who is smoking or vaping in the last 30 days is nearly 6.8% more likely to get the virus.
Typically, vapes and e-cigarettes are promoted as a substitute for conventional cigarettes. Anyone who wants to quit smoking is suggested using vapes, recognizing them as less harmful than conventional cigarettes. But this study enlists vape users as a potential risk group for getting coronavirus in addition to diabetic, immuno-compromised, older, and heart patients.
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The common symptoms of the virus in these people include coughing, difficulty in breathing, fever, fatigue, and tiredness.
The research team hopes youngsters to know the danger coming to them if they are using vape or cigarettes during the on-going pandemic. This study also urges the federal agencies to tighten the business of vape product regulations especially sold to the younger people.
