Association Between Youth Smoking, Electronic Cigarette Use, and Coronavirus Disease 2019
In July 2020, researchers from Stanford University (Gaiha, Cheng, et.al.) published the results of a study of over 4,300 people (youth to young adults) in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study examined the association between the use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and frequency of use rates to the likelihood of the user being involved with COVID-19 from developing symptoms, receiving testing and being diagnosed with the disease. Researchers found that frequent use, along with using both cigarettes and e-cigarette devices (dual-use), increases the risk of COVID-19 complications by nearly 5 – 9 fold. While this study focused on the of administration of nicotine in tobacco and its effects, these delivery mechanisms have a great deal in common with delivery systems used for consuming THC found in marijuana. While the authors call for more research into these relationships, it prompts the question; Does the smoking and vaping marijuana based products pose the same significant risk factors to public health?
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