Why Are Smokers Being Hospitalized Less Often From Coronavirus?

Date:

A Greek cardiologist and French neuroscientist are trying to find out

The Chinese smoke. Well over half the nation’s men are smokers, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one third of the planet’s cigarettes are smoked in China. But earlier this year, Konstantinos Farsalinos noticed something odd: Very few of those hospitalized for the coronavirus in the country appeared to be smokers.

Farsalinos, a cardiologist and tobacco harm-reduction specialist in Greece, has since been wondering if nicotine, the chemical substance found in tobacco, could be preventing people from getting COVID-19, or stopping the symptoms from becoming worse.

While no conclusions can yet be drawn, Farsalinos’ prevailing hypothesis is essentially that nicotine has certain anti-inflammatory effects. The most severe COVID-19 symptoms seem to come from an overreaction of the body’s immune system known as a “cytokine storm.” During that storm, the immune system targets an infection, say in the lungs, and they can become inflamed, leading to difficulty breathing. Nicotine, Farsalinos reasons, might be able to at least lessen that intensity.

Read full article here.

Alex Norcia – VICE – April 28, 2020.

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