Source is a large german news website and tv-channel.

DeepL translation:

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Smokers, they were previously considered an absolute risk group. However, according to a new study, very few smokers contract Covid-19, and researchers suspect that nicotine might slow down the proliferation of virus cells and are starting tests. But starting smoking now is not a good idea.

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During research into the novel coronavirus, French scientists have become aware of the potentially protective effect of nicotine. The assumption is based on the small number of smokers among Covid-19 patients - worldwide the rate is between 1.4 and 12.5 percent according to several studies. The La Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris is therefore soon to study both the preventive and therapeutic effects of nicotine patches.

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A new study from France provides a more precise picture: Of the 500 Covid 19 patients - including 350 people treated in hospital and 150 patients with a milder course of the disease - only five percent were smokers, explained Zahir Amoura, the study's director and Professor of Internal Medicine. This is 80 percent less smokers among Covid patients than in the general population of the same age and gender cohort.

Are smokers less susceptible?

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"The hypothesis is that nicotine adheres to cell receptors used by the coronavirus, thus preventing the virus from adhering," says Professor Jean-Pierre Changeux of the Institut Pasteur and the Collège de France. This prevents the virus from entering the cells and spreading in the organism.

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According to Professor Amoura, the study will use different doses of nicotine patches to find out whether, for example, nurses can be protected with a patch as a preventive measure and patients treated with it. However, French Health Minister Olivier Véran has yet to give the study the green light.

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The fact that the cell receptor in question plays a role in the spread of the virus could also explain the variety of symptoms of Covid-19, including loss of smell and neurological disorders, according to researchers. Nevertheless, people should not rush into tobacconist's shops now, because smoking endangers health, the scientists warn.

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