Both smoking and vaping have been found to be associated with a higher risk of COVID-19.

A recent study of those who smoked or vaped found that:

Depending on which nicotine products they used and how recently they had used them, young people who vaped or smoked, or both, were 2.6 to 9 times more likely to receive COVID-19 tests than nonusers.

Those who had used both e-cigarettes and cigarettes in the previous 30 days were 6.8 times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19.

Smoking modestly increased the risk for severe disease in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, particularly among younger patients without diabetes.

Smoking makes COVID-19 symptoms more severe.

In a study of patients admitted to the hospital due to pneumonia caused by COVID-19, it was found that current and former smokers were significantly less likely to improve over time. Instead, the COVID-19 was 14 times more likely to progress to the point where the patients required intensive respiratory assistance.

The connection between smoking history and adverse pneumonia treatment outcomes and/or death are well established. Current or former smokers are at a far greater risk of severe respiratory outcomes once the virus is contracted.