NIDA Director Urges People to Stop Vaping Because of Coronavirus Risks

Dr. Nora Volkow, who heads the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is urging people to stop vaping because of the likelihood it will lead to worse outcomes for people with coronavirus, Kaiser Health News reports.

Because the pandemic is so new, there is not enough data to show for certain that vaping increases the risk of worse outcomes, she noted. “We already know for COVID that, with comorbid conditions—particularly those that affect the lungs, the heart, the immune system—[patients] are more likely to have negative outcomes,” she said. “One can predict an association. In the meantime, because of the data that already exist, we should be very cautious. The prudent thing is to strongly advise individuals who are vaping to stop.”

COVID-19 also is especially dangerous for people taking opioids, Dr. Volkow said. “If you get COVID and you are taking opioids, the physiological consequences are going to be much worse. You’re not only going to have the effects of the virus itself, but you’ll have the depressive effects of opioids in the respiratory system [and] in the brain that lead to much less circulation in the lungs,” she said.