Some state and local governments have made
some pretty brash claims this week in regards
to COVID-19 and how e-cigarette users are
more likely to catch the virus than non-vapers,
but why? Find out more on this edition of
Ruthless Insider.
Hello and welcome to another edition of Ruthless
Insider. When it comes to COVID-19 there are
many different perspectives floating around,
but despite the strong number of skeptics
a good percentage of people are still stocking
up on toilet paper and cleaning supplies as
a direct reaction to the media. A working
theory links the harms of Coronavirus to the
damage done to the lungs from smoking cigarettes.
Michael Ryan, executive director of the W.H.O’s
Health Emergencies program, said on February
14th that higher rates of cigarette smoking
are a quote “Excellent hypothesis” for
why men seem to be more heavily impacted by
COVID-19 than women. The general rate of infection
from respiratory viruses is higher among smokers. And
while smoking hasn’t been definitively linked
to exacerbating COVID-19, for MERS—the respiratory
syndrome coronavirus first identified in
the Middle East in 2014—increased risk of
infection has been linked to smoking by a
multinational research team. While switching
smokers to risk-reduced nicotine products like
vapes would likely come too late to slow the
current spread of COVID-19, it is plausible—though
unproven—that large-scale switching would
significantly mitigate against future respiratory
viruses. The purported—also unproven—additional
risk for vapers compared with people who don’t
use nicotine sees harm reduction products
included in such messaging. At a press conference
on March 8th New York Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed
quote “If you are a smoker or a vaper, that
does make you more vulnerable. If you are
a smoker or a vaper this is a very good time
to stop that habit and we will help you.”
Another statement made by John Silvernail,
director of Pitt County public health department
in North Carolina explained quote “Smoking
or vaping doesn’t make you a bad person,
but it is bad for you. Furthermore, smoking
and vaping irritate your respiratory system,
potentially making it easier for infections
to invade your body.” The fast-developing
situation with COVID-19 requires public health
authorities to make decisions without the
benefit of substantial evidence, but balanced
communications are essential. The far more
predictable health harms of smoking continue
to contrast with the substantial relative benefits
of switching to risk-reduced nicotine products (of
which some, such as oral snus, have no known
respiratory impact). If that key message—already
denied by the WHO and many others—were
to be further obscured by stop-vaping calls
amid the COVID-19 crisis, there’s every
likelihood that it will further exacerbate
the harms of this outbreak.
Why do you think it is that these state representatives
have been so quick to speak out against vaping
with no research to back it up? Please share
your thoughts with us down below and as always
don’t forget to like, share, subscribe and
ring that bell button to keep up to date with
all of our Ruthless content. This has been
Nick with Ruthless Insider, and we will see
you in the next video.
some pretty brash claims this week in regards
to COVID-19 and how e-cigarette users are
more likely to catch the virus than non-vapers,
but why? Find out more on this edition of
Ruthless Insider.
Hello and welcome to another edition of Ruthless
Insider. When it comes to COVID-19 there are
many different perspectives floating around,
but despite the strong number of skeptics
a good percentage of people are still stocking
up on toilet paper and cleaning supplies as
a direct reaction to the media. A working
theory links the harms of Coronavirus to the
damage done to the lungs from smoking cigarettes.
Michael Ryan, executive director of the W.H.O’s
Health Emergencies program, said on February
14th that higher rates of cigarette smoking
are a quote “Excellent hypothesis” for
why men seem to be more heavily impacted by
COVID-19 than women. The general rate of infection
from respiratory viruses is higher among smokers. And
while smoking hasn’t been definitively linked
to exacerbating COVID-19, for MERS—the respiratory
syndrome coronavirus first identified in
the Middle East in 2014—increased risk of
infection has been linked to smoking by a
multinational research team. While switching
smokers to risk-reduced nicotine products like
vapes would likely come too late to slow the
current spread of COVID-19, it is plausible—though
unproven—that large-scale switching would
significantly mitigate against future respiratory
viruses. The purported—also unproven—additional
risk for vapers compared with people who don’t
use nicotine sees harm reduction products
included in such messaging. At a press conference
on March 8th New York Mayor Bill de Blasio claimed
quote “If you are a smoker or a vaper, that
does make you more vulnerable. If you are
a smoker or a vaper this is a very good time
to stop that habit and we will help you.”
Another statement made by John Silvernail,
director of Pitt County public health department
in North Carolina explained quote “Smoking
or vaping doesn’t make you a bad person,
but it is bad for you. Furthermore, smoking
and vaping irritate your respiratory system,
potentially making it easier for infections
to invade your body.” The fast-developing
situation with COVID-19 requires public health
authorities to make decisions without the
benefit of substantial evidence, but balanced
communications are essential. The far more
predictable health harms of smoking continue
to contrast with the substantial relative benefits
of switching to risk-reduced nicotine products (of
which some, such as oral snus, have no known
respiratory impact). If that key message—already
denied by the WHO and many others—were
to be further obscured by stop-vaping calls
amid the COVID-19 crisis, there’s every
likelihood that it will further exacerbate
the harms of this outbreak.
Why do you think it is that these state representatives
have been so quick to speak out against vaping
with no research to back it up? Please share
your thoughts with us down below and as always
don’t forget to like, share, subscribe and
ring that bell button to keep up to date with
all of our Ruthless content. This has been
Nick with Ruthless Insider, and we will see
you in the next video.
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