COVID-19 Tobacco and Vaping Alert

COVID-19 is a respiratory illness and data tells us that it is even more dangerous for people who smoke and vape.  According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: “Never has it been more important for smokers to quit and for individuals to avoid damaging their lungs by vaping.”

According to Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “Because it attacks the lungs, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could be an especially serious threat to those who smoke tobacco or marijuana or who vape.” “It is therefore reasonable to be concerned that compromised lung function or lung disease related to smoking history, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), could put people at risk for serious complications of COVID-19.”  Read the full article here.

“Vaping, like smoking, may also harm lung health. Whether it can lead to COPD is still unknown, but emerging evidence suggests that exposure to aerosols from e-cigarettes harms the cells of the lung and diminishes the ability to respond to infection.”

Cessation Resources:

802Quits has youth-focused information for quitting vaping.  Click here to learn more.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has produced a set of online resources to help parents help their teens quit vaping as part of their Protect Kids: Fight Flavored E-Cigarettes campaign.  Click here to learn more.

The Truth Initiative has Covid-19 information for teens and the text-based program This Is Quitting.

Check out Clearing the Vapor, an online tool to explore what is known about e-cigarettes.

My Life, My Quit has facts about vaping, nicotine and tobacco along with cessation help for teens.

How to notice signs of nicotine withdrawal:

 

In the News:

CNN: “How smoking, vaping and drug use might increase risks from Covid-19”

ABC: “Vaping and e-cigarettes: Adding fuel to the coronavirus fire?

UCSF: “Reduce your risk of serious lung disease caused by corona virus by quitting smoking and vaping”

Washington Post: “22 percent of U.S. teens say they recently vaped, a slowing of previous trends”

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