The World Health Organization’s attempts to link vaping with COVID-19 have been completely discredited by a significant study out of the United States, says Asia Pacific’s leading Tobacco Harm Reduction consumer advocacy group.
Research by the Mayo Clinic published in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, titled ‘Electronic Cigarette Use Is Not Associated with COVID-19 Diagnosis’ involved nearly 70,000 patients. The study concluded that e-cigarettes ‘do not appear to increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection’.
“For over a year, we’ve had to endure WHO’s latest round of orchestrated lies about vaping. Outrageously, various WHO briefings and materials on COVID have stated that ‘e-cigarette use may increase the risk of infection’, without offering any scientific basis whatsoever,” says Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA).
Last year a review of global medical research into the relationship between vaping and contracting COVID-19 showed no such connection. In fact, Ms Loucas says debate continues on whether nicotine may actually exert protective effects. Regardless, nothing seemed to stop WHO from peddling its scare tactics about safer nicotine products with the media keen to publish stories that were speculative at best.
“Thankfully, credible, trusted media sources such as Forbes have given this latest Mayo Clinic study the credit it’s due, headlining ‘No, Vaping Doesn’t Make You More Susceptible To Coronavirus’. Good on Forbes for profiling the evidence, not profiting from all the emotion,” she says.
In his article, Forbes’ science reporter notes that any research claiming an association between vaping and COVID has received widespread media coverage. At the same time, ‘studies producing null results have been largely ignored, leading to outcome reporting bias.’
24SHARE Updates – 2021-07-10.
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