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A controversial French study published last week that suggests nicotine may have a protective effect against the new coronavirus has caused a stir in the international scientific community.
Based on a review of recent articles and observation of cases in a French hospital, the study noted a low smoking rate among Covid-19 patients (5% of a total of 500 tested).
Other small studies have already observed that the smoking rate among those infected varies between 1.4% and 12.5%. But they are mere associations, since no controlled clinical trial on the subject has been published so far.
The hypothesis put forward by the researchers is that the virus cannot penetrate the cell because nicotine is using the same cellular receptor.
However, experts in the field refute these conclusions. For them, there is a great scientific weakness in the French work and it is not possible to point out any benefit associated with smoking.
In addition to being uncontrolled, the work was published in a journal not indexed in scientific databases and did not undergo expert review.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has also published reports that “current evidence suggests that the severity of Covid is higher among smokers.”
A March report from the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC) identified smokers as a “vulnerable group” to Covid-19 infection.
For WHO, many smokers may also have lung disease or reduced lung capacity, which would greatly increase the risk of the severe form of Covid-19.
Tobacco use kills about 8 million people each year. The harmful health effects, such as cancer or heart attacks, are irrefutable.
In an interview with AFP, the French group said it plans to continue the study and administer nicotine patches in three clinical trials.
One, preventive, will be aimed at health professionals and will aim to identify the protective role of the substance.
The other two intend to study the possible therapeutic role of the substance in the treatment of hospitalized and more seriously ill patients in intensive care units. This phase depends on the authorization and support of the French Ministry of Health.
It is the second time that France has participated in controversial studies during the Covid-19 pandemic and in both for the same reason: the publication of works that are outside the so-called gold standard of science, which are randomized double-blind controlled studies, is That is, neither the researchers nor the patients know if they are taking the medication or the placebo, to avoid bias.
The first situation involved the study of the French infectologist Didier Raoult, who noted the benefits of using hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19, but was criticized worldwide by scientists.
On April 3, the scientific society responsible for the journal that published it, the International Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, said the research “did not meet expected standards, especially due to a lack of explanations for the inclusion and screening criteria for the patients”.
In the scientific community, there is a perception that, due to the appearance of the coronavirus, articles are published without review or in a more hasty way and that they will never be published in normal situations.
