THE ESSENTIAL
- About half of vapers continue to smoke occasionally or daily while the other half are former smokers.
- Less than 1% of e-cigarette users had never smoked before.
For several years, the success of the electronic cigarette has been increasing. Some use it to cut down or quit smoking, while others have never smoked before using it. But, according to a study published in the journal Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, vapers would be more affected by the symptoms of Covid-19 than people who do not smoke.
More common symptoms during infection
To reach this conclusion, scientists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, located in Minnesota in the United States, studied the health data of 1,734 patients, including 289 vapers, with Covid-19. In the information collected, the researchers found the symptoms that the participants suffered during the infection. The authors found that e-cigarette users had more frequent symptoms during infection than non-users.
Research to assess the impact of vaping on long Covid
In detail, 16% of vapers had chest pain (compared to 10% for non-vapers), 25% had chills (compared to 19%), 49% headaches (compared to 41%), 37% smell and taste problems (compared to 30%) and 16% dizziness (compared to 9%). In the future, scientists want to continue their research to determine if vaping has an impact in patients who have symptoms following infection, during a long Covid for example.