Expert warns dirty habit enjoyed by millions can increase the risk of long-term Covid damage

A leading expert has warned that vaping can increase your risk of developing long term damage from Covid, as cases of the virus soar.

And, concerningly, people who use their vape while sick or recovering from a bout of the virus are potentially putting their long-term health in grave danger.

Just last week experts urged people to wear masks and isolate if infected with the virus, as the new variants Nimbus and Stratus swept Britain.

Writing for The Conversation, Professor Keith Rochfort a bioscience expert at Dublin City University said: ‘It’s a time when healthy lungs matter more than ever. 

‘Yet the very tissue that lets oxygen pass from air to blood is remarkably delicate and habits such as vaping can weaken it just when protection is most needed.’

He explained: ‘Vaping irritates and inflames the blood-vessel lining while Covid floods the lungs with pro-flammatory molecules. Together they create the “perfect storm”

‘Capillaries become leaky, fluid seeps into the air sacs and oxygen struggles to cross the blood-air barrier.

‘Covid also raises the risk of blood clots in the lung’s vessels, while vaping has been linked to the same, compounding danger.

‘Vaping can also hinder recovery after a bout of Covid. Healing the fragile exchange surface requires every bit of support the lungs can get.’

Worryingly, he said: ‘Vaping adds stress to tissues the virus has already damaged, even if the vaper feels no immediate symptoms.

‘The result can be prolonged breathlessness, persistent fatigue and a slower return to pre-illness activity levels.’

It all comes down to the stress vaping puts on a ‘paper thin layer’ of the lungs, known medically as the blood air barrier, that is vital for its functioning, he explained.

The layer which must remain ‘strong and flexible’ for healthy breathing he explained, is constantly under stress from air pollution, tiny particles and infections.

Professor Rochfort explained: ‘It holds together under normal wear but can tear when pushed too hard. 

‘Vaping weakens that weave before illness strikes, making an infection such as COVID harder to overcome.’

He also warned the cocktail of solvents, flavouring chemicals and trace metals in vaping clouds breathed out, can seep deeper, irritating the endothelium.

This is a thin layer of cells that line blood vessels, including tiny ones in your lungs where oxygen enters your blood.

Healthy endothelium, he explained, prevents clotting and ensures the right nutrients, hormones and immune cells pass in and out of the blood.

But he warned: ‘Studies show vaping can disrupt these defences causing endothelial dysfunction even in young, otherwise healthy people.’

A 2018 study, found never smokers who puffed an e-cigarette had elevated levels of endothelial microparticles (EMPs) which can indicate endothelial dysfunction.

Professor Rochfort’s own research, he says, has linked these changes to surges in inflammatory and stress markers in blood after exposure to vaping.

‘Together these findings indicate that the endothelium is struggling to maintain its protective role,’ he said. 

Other laboratory work has shown vaping aerosols, even without nicotine, can affect these cells, making it harder to fight respiratory infections, he explained. 

In light of this, Professor Rochfort said: ‘The science is still evolving, but the message is clear: vaping undermines vascular health.

‘Quitting, even temporarily, gives the lungs and blood vessels the cleaner environment they need to heal and to keep every breath effortless.’

Covid is one of four respiratory infections currently wiping people out across the UK, which—along with norovirus—has led to experts warning the UK could be set to face a ‘quin-demic’ of illnesses.

The new Covid strains—XFG, dubbed Stratus, and NB.1.8.1, known as Nimbus—are fuelling a surge in infections, with cases doubling since August.

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University told the Daily Mail the increase in cases and hospitalisations is ‘worrying so early in the Autumn period’.

He put it down to a mixture of children returning to school, colder temperatures causing people to spend more time indoors—often in places with poor ventilation—and waning protective immunity.

Experts say the new variants—one of which causes a distinct ‘razor blade’ sore throat—do not appear to pose any bigger threat than previous strains of Covid, or make people feel more ill.

However, genetic changes to the virus means that infections may become more likely.

It’s not just lungs that vapes can damage. 

In February, a bombshell study revealed that regularly using e-cigarettes could put users at risk of dementia, heart disease and organ failure.

Britons are taking up vaping in unprecedented numbers, with roughly one in ten adults estimated to be hooked on the habit.

While vapes are generally considered safer than cigarettes and a useful tool for quitting smoking, surveys have found around 8 per cent of adult vapers have never smoked before.

Earlier this week, a report released by the World Health Organisation claimed that the global number of people who use the devices exceeds 100million.