The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has had many devastating consequences beyond the dangers of the virus itself, such as layoffs, cut hours, insurance issues, and loss of socialization, among others. But people are also using their time at home as they social distance in an attempt to flatten the curve and reduce exposure to do things they may have been meaning to do for a while: get into baking, clean the house, and play a lot of family board games.

Experts are suggesting that this also may be the ideal time for parents to encourage their kids to kick their e-cigarette nicotine addictions.

Vape culture itself, combined with e-cigarette nicotine addictions, can make it difficult for young people to quit the vaping habit—even if they want to. And over the last couple of years, the use of e-cigarettes among teens has drastically increased, e-cigarette nicotine addictions are affecting more and more young people.

Among high school students, e-cigarette use reportedly increased by 78 percent between 2017 and 2018, and by about 48 percent among middle school students, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This brings the total to about 5 million middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes, an increase of about 1.5 million compared to the year before. Nearly 1 million of these children reportedly use e-cigarettes daily.

But while young people are social distancing, they are as removed as they can be from teen vape culture, which may make it easier for them to pull away from the habit, if they so choose.

“I think there’s no question that this is a perfect opportunity for people who are vaping or using tobacco or nicotine products to try to quit, if they’re so inclined,” Dr. Dean Drosnes, the medical director of the Caron Treatment Centers in Pennsylvania, told Today.com. “I can’t say enough about this being a perfect time to quit vaping and smoking and put yourself at minimum risk, now and in the future.”

There are a number of risks of vaping that have already been documented; more than 2,800 patients have been hospitalized due to or died from an e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) since August 2019, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). So far, 68 deaths have been confirmed in the U.S. But more potential risks from vaping are now emerging.

While there haven’t been many studies published yet with regards to the novel coronavirus, experts like the U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams suggest that the high rate of vaping among young people in the U.S. may be a contributing factor to the rising number of COVID-19 cases for people under 49, which is higher than any many other countries.

“There are theories that [the increase in cases in younger populations] could be because we know we have a higher proportion of people in the United States, and also in Italy, who vape,” said Adams on Today. “We don’t know if that’s the only cause, but it’s important for young people to know you can get this disease, you can be hospitalized for this disease, you can die from this disease.”

While it is not yet known if vaping increases people’s risk of contracting coronavirus, it is known that lower immune function does increase risk and make people immunocompromised. Chronic vaping may, in turn, create this lowered immune function.

“Chronic vaping seems to decrease immune function in the lungs, and that, in a general way, inhibits the body’s normal response to invasion by an infectious agent,” said Drosnes. “It makes sense that people who vape would be less able to combat the COVID-19 virus . . . If you do contract it, you’re at risk of getting a much more severe disease.”

The social distancing measures, along with this potential connection between vaping and an increased risk of contracting coronavirus, especially a more severe version of the disease, may help encourage some young people to take steps away from their e-cigarette nicotine addictions.

“People who pay attention to the media and are learning about COVID-19 recognize that this is a respiratory virus that attacks the respiratory system,” Drosnes said. “People who get this have a cough and breathing problems; people develop pneumonia, and the majority of fatalities have been as a result of that uncontrolled pneumonia . . . I think parents have an ability to couch those facts in a way that is loving and protective of their kids.”

While social distancing at home, families with multiple smokers or vapers may be able to frame the process of quitting these habits as a sort of “family undertaking,” Drosnes said.

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This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.