Based on France’s new research, they said that Nicotine could help protect people from contracting the coronavirus. They are planning to test further trials whether the substance could be used to prevent or treat coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

This was after the researchers at a top Paris hospital examined 343 COVID-19 patients along with 139 people infected with the illness with milder symptoms.

“Among these patients, only five percent were smokers,” said Zahir Amoura, the study’s co-author and a professor of internal medicine.

Based on the theory of the renowned neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux from France’s Pasteur Institute, Nicotine could hod fast to cell receptors, which help block the virus from entering cells and spreading in the body.

The researchers are awaiting approval from health authorities in France to carry out further clinical trials.

They plan to use nicotine patches on health workers at the Pitie Salpetriere hospital in Paris where the initial research was conducted. This is to see if Nicotine could protect them against contracting the virus.

Researchers were 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.

Experts are not encouraging people to pick up smoking or use nicotine patches as a protective measure against the virus.

The France health official Jerome Salomon said, “We must not forget the harmful effects of nicotine.”

He also warned everyone that, “Those who do not smoke should absolutely not use nicotine substitutes”, which causes side effects and addiction.

Tobacco is the number one killer in France, with an estimated 75,000 deaths per year linked to smoking.

So far, France is one of the hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus in Europe, with more than 21,000 deaths and over 155,000 reported infections.

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