Doctors Recommend Giving Up Smoking and Vaping During Coronavirus

[Polarbearboy]

Hope the Mods don't delete this as a double post, but this is important information that folks should be aware of if they are concerned about vaping and coronavirus. Thanks Mods.

Two articles about smoking and vaping and CV from yesterday's NYTimes. Personally, I ain't ready to give inhaling delicious cannabis up yet, but wanted to share these for vaguely educational purposes.

Smokers and Vapers May Be at Greater Risk for Covid-19
Tobacco and marijuana products damage lungs, where the virus does its harm. Health officials are urging people to quit, and temporary sales bans are even being discussed.

NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/...tion=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

How to Quit Smoking and Vaping During the Coronavirus Pandemic
People who smoke and vape may be at greater risk for Covid-19, but quitting is hard, especially now. The good news: There are a lot of helpful resources.

NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/...tion=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

 

[Polarbearboy]

From one of the top comments responding to the above articles:

Quote from the article: “Inhaling combusted or vaped cannabis products can damage lung cells, may increase viral replication, and does affect the ability to fight off infection".

Quote from the abstract of the journal article referenced in the above quote: "Diffusing capacity in marijuana smokers has been normal, and two studies of thoracic high-resolution CT scan have not shown any association of marijuana smoking with emphysema. Although bronchial biopsies from habitual marijuana smokers have shown precancerous histopathologic changes, a large cohort study and a pooled analysis of six well-designed case-control studies have not found evidence of a link between marijuana smoking and lung cancer. The immunosuppressive effects of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol raise the possibility of an increased risk of pneumonia, but further studies are needed to evaluate this potential risk."

In other words, there is no solid evidence that smoking or vaping marijuana compromises the lungs in the way that tobacco/nicotine does or in the way described in the article. If such evidence exists, please point to it.

 

[archangelz001]

@Polarbearboy I agree with your second post. The difference in lung damage from smoking cigarettes vs cannabis is, in the real world, huge. That being said, fuckcombustion.

 

[C No Ego]

even flower that is vaporized will be a minor irritant ... the actives once ingested as Aerosol vapor act like ( ROS) reactive oxygen species, activating bile acids and other pain reducing pathways but still they act as ROS regardless ... this " ROS " creates a form of anti oxidant effect . a minor Pertussis toxin https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Pertussis+toxin&t=ffcm&atb=v165-1&ia=web

 

[ginolicious]

Yikes!

 

[uncanni]

even flower that is vaporized will be a minor irritant

Yes, of course it is, and we all feel the effects when we over-do it--certainly moreso as we age. Sometimes I think I'd love to keep vaping and vaping, but my lungs always tell me when to stop, and I listen.

 

[archangelz001]

This is perhaps the most even-handed and reasonable discussion of cannabis use during the COVID 19 pandemic:

http://www.medleafrx.com/articles/covid-19-and-cannabis-a-good-or-bad-combination

 

[hibeam]

I almost never leave our homestead anyway as a MCS sufferer. But my husband has gone out every day during lockdown to eat carry out and shop at open businesses just for something to do. He has been under the weather twice now since Jan. I had a mystery virus for a few days two weeks ago. I had a small but quite painful abscess form in my nose and had fever and chills.

I never stopped vaping flower in a whip vape because it prevents my daily migraines and zaps PTSD. I just doubled my zinc and D3 doses and took one good long fever inducing hot bath. Next morning, the abscess was gone and I felt totally back to normal. I never get sore throats. Herb can make me cough and sneeze excessively but that is my therapy, along with once in a while Neti pot use. My lung capacity is wow. I am sixty and can jog uphill no problem. Unless the local pyro has been unlawfully burning brush that day...or too many people on my street used dryer sheets that morning....

I feel as if my vaping habit is actually PROTECTIVE. We really need to stop this one-size-for-all medicine business.

 

[C No Ego]

I almost never leave our homestead anyway as a MCS sufferer. But my husband has gone out every day during lockdown to eat carry out and shop at open businesses just for something to do. He has been under the weather twice now since Jan. I had a mystery virus for a few days two weeks ago. I had a small but quite painful abscess form in my nose and had fever and chills.

I never stopped vaping flower in a whip vape because it prevents my daily migraines and zaps PTSD. I just doubled my zinc and D3 doses and took one good long fever inducing hot bath. Next morning, the abscess was gone and I felt totally back to normal. I never get sore throats. Herb can make me cough and sneeze excessively but that is my therapy, along with once in a while Neti pot use. My lung capacity is wow. I am sixty and can jog uphill no problem. Unless the local pyro has been unlawfully burning brush that day...or too many people on my street used dryer sheets that morning....

I feel as if my vaping habit is actually PROTECTIVE. We really need to stop this one-size-for-all medicine business.

rant on
Honestly dryer sheets led me to want more natural everything ... those fake dryer Sheet smells suck life force directly from my body ... working outside on peoples homes you smell their exhausts all the time , sewer vents on houses ETC.... but the dryer sheet Shit is the worst of all , added to some early spring pollen and that fake smell stuff really becomes bothersome ... the people walk around in those clothes that stink like hell too ... just a case of severe unawareness all around while we think it is healthy because it smells floral ?? We add a few drops of real essential oils to the dryer sheet ( a non smell version dryer sheet) and to a sock in the wash ...
rant off

 

[Siebter]

The difference in lung damage from smoking cigarettes vs cannabis is, in the real world, huge.

Numbers from China show a surprisingly low number of (cigarette) smokers among hospitalized C19 patients: https://www.qeios.com/read/article/561 (note that „vaping“ in this article refers to e cig vaping). So far no one has even a vague idea why that is. But it does not support the general warning against smoking cigarettes to avoid heavy or even fatal infections of C19.

SARS-CoV-2 is known to use the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor for cell entry. There is a complex and unclear interplay between COVID-19 and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Until recently, smoking and nicotine were found to down-regulate ACE2 expression in the lung and other tissues. More recent analyses suggest that up-regulation of ACE-2 caused by smoking could be detrimental for COVID-19. However experimental data suggest that infection with SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 leads to down-regulation of ACE2, and this downregulation is detrimental due to uncontrolled ACE and angiotensin II activity. It has been observed that decreased ACE2 availability contributes to lung injury and ARDS development. Therefore, higher ACE2 expression, while seemingly paradoxical, may protect against acute lung injury caused by COVID-19.

I'm referring to C19 only here, of course. Smoking kills, I even think smoking cannabis kills just as much. But the data suggests that current smoking of cigarettes does not increase risks of a C19 infection.

 

[MinnBobber]

This is perhaps the most even-handed and reasonable discussion of cannabis use during the COVID 19 pandemic:

http://www.medleafrx.com/articles/covid-19-and-cannabis-a-good-or-bad-combination

...........
Article was decent. Wish it would have, in the list of supplements to help in this crisis, listed moderate use of cannabis.
Mention was made previously in the article but cannabis benefits dwarf many of the listed things.

I think cannabis use now, to supplement your Endocannabinoid System, is more important than ever.

 

[invertedisdead]

I think cannabis use now, to supplement your Endocannabinoid System, is more important than ever.

IMO cannabis aerosols are probably one of the only delivery methods that has potential to stand up to the virus. The reason lung infections and such are so dangerous is its one of the hardest areas to deliver antibiotics to. With vaporized cannabis, you're putting established anti-inflammatory and anti-viral components in direct contact with the deep lung.

rant on
Honestly dryer sheets led me to want more natural everything ... those fake dryer Sheet smells suck life force directly from my body ... working outside on peoples homes you smell their exhausts all the time , sewer vents on houses ETC.... but the dryer sheet Shit is the worst of all , added to some early spring pollen and that fake smell stuff really becomes bothersome ... the people walk around in those clothes that stink like hell too ... just a case of severe unawareness all around while we think it is healthy because it smells floral ?? We add a few drops of real essential oils to the dryer sheet ( a non smell version dryer sheet) and to a sock in the wash ...
rant off

I relate to this post so much, I better not take a vape hit right now or I'll join this rant most certainly. You're so correct that as a populous we quite literally bathe in a false sense of "cleanliness" and I know what you mean about those gag-inducing dryer sheets. Synthetic fragrances (and flavors) are a pretty strange thing, kinda like how scientists synthesize vanillin from beaver butthole and cow crap. I read that 98% of vanilla does NOT come from vanilla beans!

 

[uncanni]

Environmental Working Group has been informing us for years and years about all the toxic chemicals disguised as "fragrances" in so many home products: https://www.ewg.org/healthyhomeguide/cleaners-and-air-fresheners/

 

[Ramahs]

I'll be vaping till my lungs don't allow it.
I recognize that I am taking an unnecessary risk, and I accept the possible downsides.
It is what it is.

 

[C No Ego]

@invertedisdead
@uncanni

our bodies absorb those smells and tries to make things with them ... the fact they are not real becomes apparent as that shit sticks in our bodies and does not follow through with known pathways ETC.... we absorb them like Flavones but alas they are not that @ all

 

[Siebter]

Synthetic fragrances (and flavors) are a pretty strange thing, kinda like how scientists synthesize vanillin from beaver butthole and cow crap.

Cow crap? That's new to me. But the beaver butthole stuff is actually called castoreum and has been used in perfumery for many decades (though it's a bit out of fashion these days). It's not synthetic. It doesn't smell like vanilla at all, but rather musky and animalic. Vanillin is mostly sourced from cellulose fiber.

 

[invertedisdead]

Cow crap? That's new to me. But the beaver butthole stuff is actually called castoreum and has been used in perfumery for many decades (though it's a bit out of fashion these days). It's not synthetic. It doesn't smell like vanilla at all, but rather musky and animalic. Vanillin is mostly sourced from cellulose fiber.

I'll just stick to actual vanilla bean pods...

 

[Siebter]

@invertedisdead – Of course. But your preferences are no reason to spread misinformation.

 

[invertedisdead]

@invertedisdead – Of course. But your preferences are no reason to spread misinformation.

Excuse me?

It's starting to get kind of weird how you consistently attempt to call me out and prove me wrong.

Honestly, I'd suggest that you stop. People don't go around cherrypicking your every post, lay off dude.

 

[Siebter]

In fact, this is a pretty wise decision because when you exhale smoke, your saliva microparticles can get into the air, and if you are infected you can infect anyone.

Saliva in smoke? Wouldn't that be the same with any kind of exhale?

 

[FlyingLow]

This article seems to take a different position on smokers, from studying the population in China where smoking is most prevalent.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...email&utm_campaign=curated_vice_daily_1023202

 

[C No Ego]

This article seems to take a different position on smokers, from studying the population in China where smoking is most prevalent.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...email&utm_campaign=curated_vice_daily_1023202

I've heard of cases where a smoker stops smoking and suddenly becomes ill ... weird for sure

 

[Siebter]

Yeah, I linked a study about it a bit earlier → https://www.qeios.com/read/Z69O8A.13

It's an early study that basically just tries to highlight those puzzling numbers of very low hospitalization rates among smokers. It could be the nicotine, but we don't know yet.

 

[uncanni]

when you exhale smoke, your saliva microparticles can get into the air, and if you are infected you can infect anyone.

Then the wise decision would be simply not to breathe around others.

 

[Ramahs]

In fact, this is a pretty wise decision because when you exhale smoke, your saliva microparticles can get into the air, and if you are infected you can infect anyone.

Then it's a good thing most of us here don't smoke.