Does vaping increase COVID-19 risk?

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have speculated that vaping could increase the risk of getting COVID-19 and experiencing more severe outcomes from the disease. The claims were grounded in little to no evidence, and almost none has emerged since.

The authors of a California study claimed that their survey showed young vapers were five to seven times more likely than never vapers to test positive. It received a massive amount of media coverage. It also received scathing criticism and calls for retraction from longtime researchers in the field who cited multiple methodological issues. A large Icelandic study reported that the proportion of e-cigarette users was lower among patients with COVID-19 than in the general population of Iceland and that patients using e-cigarettes did not have more severe symptoms than other patients. A non-peer reviewed UK study found that vaping was not associated with self-reported COVID-19.

There is a considerable amount of evidence that current tobacco smoking is associated with a reduced chance of testing positive. Former smokers appear to face more serious outcomes than current or never smokers. Outcome data on current smoking are mixed.

The association of smoking status with SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, hospitalization and mortality from COVID‐19: a living rapid evidence review with Bayesian meta‐analyses (version 7)

Characteristics and risk factors for COVID-19 diagnosis and adverse outcomes in Mexico: an analysis of 89,756 laboratory–confirmed COVID-19 cases

A twitter thread with links to hundreds of studies which report smoking status data of COVID-19 patients