Could the e-cigarette protect its users from a severe form of covid-19 (coronavirus)? From April 10, when France had not completed its first month of confinement, the questioning concerning the role of nicotine in protection against covid-19 is posed. Today, three studies, two of which are already underway, will attempt to answer this question!
OBJECTIVE: TO KNOW IF NICOTINE PROTECTS PATIENTS FROM COVID!
This is a theory that researchers from the AP-HP (Public Assistance - Hospitals of Paris) will try to prove through three studies, two of which are already on track. They consist in distributing as many nicotine patches as placebo to non-smokers.
The first two studies relate to patients already suffering from Covid-19, hospitalized in care units (Nicovid study) and in intensive care units (Nicovid Rea). " The objective is to know if nicotine protects patients from a progression to a poor prognosis " , highlighted Zahir Amoura, head of the internal medicine department 2, autoimmune and systemic diseases at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, in Paris.
The third study (Nicovid Prev) will focus on 1 non-smokers (doctors and hospital staff, private doctors, nursing home staff). They too will wear nicotine patches, or placebos, for about six months: " We take a population exposed to the risk of having the Covid, specifies the professor. The idea is to see if putting on these patches results in fewer infections. "
If the results are conclusive, the prospect of eventually developing a nicotine-based treatment could be considered.
