In brief

COVID is no longer the only topic.

Flu, RSV and cold viruses also affect the airways.

For vaping, the balanced position is: no panic, no trivialisation, no sharing devices and extra care when symptoms appear.

The question “vaping and COVID – are there interesting facts?” made sense in 2020. Today it is too narrow. COVID remains a respiratory virus, but flu, RSV and other cold viruses also circulate in everyday life. For adult vapers, the better question is: what does vaping mean in the wider context of respiratory infections?

This article is not a diagnosis and not personal medical advice. It gives context for what can be said responsibly: respiratory infections spread through droplets and aerosols, e-cigarettes create an inhaled aerosol, and when symptoms are present, consideration for others matters more than habit.

COVID, flu and RSV are different infections, but they affect the same area: the respiratory tract. Symptoms can overlap, and transmission often happens through droplets and aerosols from the respiratory tract. That is why Swiss public-health communication increasingly discusses these pathogens together as respiratory viruses.

In daily life, this means the issue is not only one test result or one virus name. What matters is whether someone has symptoms, is in close contact with others, is indoors, or has contact with people at higher risk.

E-cigarettes heat liquid and create an aerosol that is inhaled and exhaled again. This aerosol is not the same as tobacco smoke, but it is also not simply “clean air”. Vaping should therefore be handled with extra consideration when someone has a cold, cough, sore throat or fever.

In practice, this means: do not vape near other people when sick. Do not share the device. Keep the mouthpiece clean. Pay attention to distance and ventilation indoors. And when symptoms are strong or persistent, get medical advice instead of treating it as “just a cough”.

Research on vaping and respiratory infections is not as simple as many headlines suggest. A newer systematic review describes mixed findings in human observational studies on COVID-19 and other respiratory infections. At the same time, experimental studies indicate that e-cigarette exposure, compared with non-use, may be linked with greater susceptibility to respiratory infections.

The correct conclusion is cautious: vaping should not be described as harmless for the airways. But individual studies should also not be treated as final proof. Study design, comparison group, previous smoking, dual use and whether the evidence comes from laboratory, animal or human studies all matter.

Anyone with coughing, sore throat, fever, shortness of breath or a strong feeling of illness should be especially careful. Vaping may feel scratchy or unpleasant when the airways are already irritated. If symptoms are strong or last longer, they should be checked medically.

The social aspect also matters. Someone who is sick should not unnecessarily expose others to aerosols, close contact or shared objects. This applies whether the infection is COVID, flu, RSV or another respiratory virus.

The most useful rules are simple: do not use the same device as someone else, keep the mouthpiece clean, wash hands, keep distance when symptomatic and ventilate indoor spaces. Anyone in contact with older people, pregnant people, people with health conditions or small children should be especially careful.

These rules sound unspectacular, but they are more useful than exaggerated claims. Respiratory infections do not spread through headlines. They spread through proximity, air, surface contact and everyday habits.