U.S. Study Says That Vaping Alters The Body’s Response to Viruses

Source from:  Vapingpost 02/09/2021

The study titled, “E-cigarette Use Alters Nasal Mucosal Immune Response to Live-Attenuated Influenza Virus (LAIV),” aimed to determine the relationship between vaping, smoking and the likelihood of contracting COVID-19.

“There’s been a lot of questions in the field as to whether e-cigarette and cigarette use is beneficial or damaging or problematic in terms of COVID, and we really haven’t had a good answer,” said lead study author Meghan Rebuli, an assistant professor in the UNC Department of Pediatrics, in an interview as quoted by The News and Observer.

The researchers compared the nasal epithelial lining fluid of smokers, non-smokers and vapers, and found that smokers and vapers showed more changes in the immune genes of their respiratory cells that fight off viruses, than non-smokers. Moreover, smokers and vapers seemed to have a suppressed level of antibodies.

“Our results demonstrate that e-cigarette use altered nasal LAIV-induced immune responses, including gene expression, cytokine and chemokine release, and LAIV-specific IgA levels. Together, these data suggest that e-cigarette use induces changes in the nasal mucosa consistent with the potential for altered respiratory antiviral host defense function,” read the study Abstract.

However, the researchers failed to specify whether the vaping participants were previous smokers (as is the case in most vapers) or even dual users. Therefore given findings from previous studies, many harm reduction experts would argue that the negative response could have been caused by the lingering effects of past smoking.