Nicotine patches trial awaits approval after French study finds nicotine may be COVID-19 preventative

French researchers are planning to test nicotine patches on coronavirus patients and frontline health workers after a study suggested smokers may be much less at risk of contracting the virus. The Guardian reports that a study at Hôpitaux de Paris and Pasteur Institute, Paris suggests a substance in tobacco – possibly nicotine – may be stopping patients who smoke from catching COVID-19. Clinical trials of nicotine patches are awaiting the approval of the country’s health authorities.

Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 epidemics raises a considerable issue of public health at the planetary scale. There is a pressing urgency to find treatments based upon currently available scientific knowledge. Therefore, we tentatively propose a hypothesis which hopefully might ultimately help saving lives. Based on the current scientific literature and on new epidemiological data which reveal that current smoking status appears to be a protective factor against the infection by SARS-CoV-2 [1], we hypothesize that the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) plays a key role in the pathophysiology of Covid-19 infection and might represent a target for the prevention and control of Covid-19 infection.


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