“We are writing to you because of our concern about a recent paper published in the Journal of Adolescent Health which we feel was based on flawed data, leading to questionable conclusions, which now appears to be influencing policy decisions. The paper in question is the one published recently by Gaiha and colleagues (2020) which reported on a cross-sectional online convenience sample to examine correlations between self-reported vaping and smoking behavior and self-reported COVID-19 symptoms, testing, and positive COVID-19 test results. Facts do matter, which is why we write to you urging you to retract this flawed and misleading paper. The data are fraught with serious problems that render the analyses presented by the authors and conclusions reached as not reliable. The concern about COVID-19 is real. However, we worry when policymakers rely upon faulty data to justify policy initiatives. This has already happened in the case of the Gaiha et al paper which was cited as the basis for proposals (Krishnamoorthi, 2020; Shaheen et al, 2020) to ban the sale of nicotine vaping products until the COVID-19 pandemic is resolved.”
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