Is there a relationship between electronic cigarette smoking and infection with the emerging corona virus "Covid-19", and how does it affect the health of its users?

Dr. Graham Coby - a specialist in studies of the relationship of smoking with chronic diseases - confirms that there are many recent reports that people who smoke e-cigarettes are at increased risk of developing acute respiratory symptoms from Corona infection compared to non-users.

However, he remains cautious in confirming the results of these reports, and considers them "not completely confirmed," adding that electronic cigarettes emit volatile "carbonyl" compounds, reactive oxygen species and heavy metals, "many of which are lung toxic."

The British doctor pointed to some surveys of adolescents and e-cigarette smoking, and the risks of developing respiratory symptoms in them, such as chronic cough or sputum secretions, with an increased risk of chronic bronchitis and asthma symptoms.

These results indicate that e-cigarettes may cause severe injury that can be detected by the condition of the small airways in the lung.

shortness of breath

Among adults, a high percentage of e-cigarette users reported shortness of breath, cough, and increased volume of pharyngeal secretions along with potentially harmful enzymes such as "myeloperoxidase, elastase, and proteinase".

According to the British academic, "These effects lead to the diagnosis of a large number of people as suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome."

It is likely - according to the opinion of the speaker himself - that people who smoke electronic cigarettes will have a variable susceptibility to infection with the virus in the lung, affected by many genetic and environmental factors.

Some differences in e-cigarette technology may be more harmful than others, while dual use with combustible cigarettes (the prevalent adult usage pattern), may increase the presence of lung toxicants.

Dr. Mays Absi, a university teacher in the science of the effect of drugs and cardiovascular diseases at Keynes College, admits that the aim of electronic cigarettes in the beginning was to help get rid of smoking. Times ".

Scratches

Dr. Mays warns that these cigarettes lead to the entry of "fine particles that directly enter the lung and may cause scratches in the lung tissue," providing an example of the danger of these cigarettes by burning vitamin "E" (E), which, if heated, produces toxic fumes.

Dr. Mays said that a study of the University of "Stratford", which included 4 thousand people between the ages of 13 and 24 years, found that smokers of electronic cigarettes "have a predisposition to infection with the Corona virus five times compared to the rest of people, and the symptoms of Corona are more severe on them."

Dr. Mays links between regular smoking and electronic cigarette smoking, noting that the studies conducted show that whoever smokes the lung has the most production of the protein that receives the Corona virus, which leads to lung damage and breathing problems, "which means that these facilitate the way for the virus to reach the lung. ".

Dr. Mays welcomes any decision that places more restrictions on the use of these cigarettes, especially among adolescents and youth.