Smoking kills, we have heard this message so many times that we practically know the story of everyone’s dear Mukesh. However, far away in the land of France, coronavirus may have found its new adversary. According to new research in France, the doctors are conducting trials and testing whether nicotine could be used to prevent coronavirus.
What’s In It?
In a move that can be termed as a double-edged sword, nicotine could protect people from contracting the coronavirus if the new research from France is believed. These findings come after researchers at a top Paris hospital examined 343 coronavirus patients along with 139 people infected with illness with milder symptoms. They found that a low number of them smoked, compared to smoking rates of around 35 percent in France’s general population. Zahir Amoura, the study’s co-author and a professor of internal medicine said, “Among these patients, only five percent were smokers.”
The theory is that nicotine could adhere to cell receptors, therefore blocking the virus from entering cells and spreading in the body, according to renowned neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux from France’s Pasteur Institute who also co-authored the study. The research shared similar findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine last month that suggested that 12.6 percent of 1,000 people infected in China were smokers. That was a much lower figure than the number of regular smokers in China’s general population. The researchers are awaiting approval for further clinical trials by the health authorities in France. They plan to use nicotine patches on health workers at the Pitie-Salpetriere hospital in Paris, where the initial research was conducted, to see if it protects them against contracting the virus.
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What’s More?
They have also applied to use the patches on hospitalized patients to see whether it helps reduce symptoms and also on more serious intensive care patients, Amoura said. The researchers are looking into whether nicotine could help to prevent “cytokine storms”, a rapid overreaction of the immune system that scientists think could play a key role in fatal Covid-19 cases. On a lighter note here are 6 Interesting Coronavirus Themed Foods From Across The World
However, experts are not encouraging people to pick up smoking or use nicotine patches as a protective measure against the virus. It is important to remember that tobacco is the number one killer in France, with an estimated 75,000 deaths per year linked to smoking.”We must not forget the harmful effects of nicotine,” said Jerome Salomon, France’s top health official. “Those who do not smoke should absolutely not use nicotine substitutes”, which causes side effects and addiction, he warned.