Teenagers Who Vape Are at Higher Risk for COVID-19

It seems like vaping news has taken a backseat since the entire country has been drowning daily in Coronavirus updates. It was not that long ago that we were seeing regular headlines about the teen vaping epidemic and increased deaths and now with COVID-19, we are seeing the two crises merge to create the perfect storm.

Teenagers are still vaping and becoming injured by e-cigarettes. Use of E-cigs appears to be causing them to become highly susceptible to coronavirus and some of the worst complications that can bring about.

Why is there increased risk for teenage e-cigarette users?

Vaping is on the rise among teenagers and it has the ability to cause lung damage. We have seen that when it comes to COVID-19 completely healthy people have gotten sick and died.

The science being reported indicates that if you have an underlying health condition your risk of dying from COVID-19 or becoming a life-long victim of severe organ damage substantially increases. Teens who vape and damage their lungs are putting themselves in a higher risk category by creating their own “underlying condition.”

According to a recent study by Stanford University School of Medicine, teenagers who vape are five to seven times more likely to become infected with coronavirus. The study looked at two categories of teens and young adults between the ages of 13-24 and found:

• Those who vaped at any time in the past were five times more likely to get coronavirus.
• Those who vaped and smoked cigarettes within 30 days of the study were seven times more likely to be infected.

A large number of kids are affected

A recent update by the California Department of Public Health shows that the number of kids who have been infected with COVID-19 in the state between the ages of 5-17 to be 58,175. A survey of 44,000 high school students across the country showed that in 2018, at least:

• 5% of seniors had vaped at least once in their lifetime
• 3% of sophomores had vaped
• 6% of eighth-graders have used e-cigs

How does vaping cause lung damage?

Many teens became attracted to vaping because of the fun looking devices coupled with sweet flavors mimicking fruit or candy. Because of the nicotine content, which can be misrepresented, kids can became hooked. Nicotine has been proven to cause lung damage, and use of e-cigs also carries the potential danger of altering your immune system making it harder to fight off disease.

Rather than traditional smoke, E-cigarettes produce an aerosol by heating the nicotine laced liquid also known as “e-juice,” “e-liquid,” “vape juice,” or “vape liquid.” Users are inhaling this fine mist compound, including flavoring and other chemical additives, directly into their lungs. While JUUL was forced to remove its sweet flavors targeting children from its product line, their flavor pods still contain as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

Other chemicals contained in vape pods being inhaled to compromise the lungs may include:

• Ultrafine particles inhaled deep into the lungs
• Diacetyl used in flavoring, which is linked to serious lung disease
• Volatile organic compounds
• Cancer-causing chemicals
• Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead

These same organ-damaging chemicals being inhaled are also exhaled making it dangerous for those standing in close proximity. That means that even if teens do not vape but hang out with friends who do, they could be at greater risk for getting COVID-19.

What long-term damage can teens expect if they recover from COVID-19?

There is still a lot to learn about the long-term effects of a relatively new pandemic but just some of the damage being seen in patients who survive COVID-19 is ominous. The Mayo Clinic addresses some of the complications virus victims are going to be dealing with for the remainder of their lives. If you are a teenager or young adult who was otherwise healthy before coronavirus came along, you may face many decades of:

• Organ damage to the heart, lungs, and brain
  • Damage to the heart can mean experiencing heart attacks and needing open heart surgery down the road that will require a lifetime of medication.
  • Brain damage can result in strokes, temporary paralysis, and even increase your risk for Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Cough and permanent breathing difficulties
• Blood clots that can affect the heart, lungs, legs, liver, and kidney
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression from being on a ventilator

The mental and emotional distress of not knowing whether your child will survive, and the financial strain of medical bills and lost time from work while caring for a teenager recovering from COVID-19 can be overwhelming. Your family deserves to have some peace of mind during an unpredictable and costly injury brought about by use of an e-cigarette device.

If your child has been injured, contact  the Los Angeles product liability attorneys McNicholas & McNicholas, LLP by calling 310-706-2751, or we invite you to reach out to us through our contact page to tell us your story. Because of COVID, case reviews are being handled remotely. And remember, this blog is not legal advice. Every case is fact intense and fact specific, and only after you talk with a lawyer can your facts be analyzed.