There was a study done in France last year. A shockingly low number of smokers were being hospitalized for covid or dying from it. Turns out, nicotine bonds to the same Ace2 receptors as the virus, essentially blocking the virus from taking over.
It was a hypothesis and being studied further, haven't heard anything since.
Thanks for the research ammo.
Here's a study that is likely the same one they referenced:
A nicotinic hypothesis for Covid-19 with preventive and therapeutic implications https://www.qeios.com/read/fxgqsb https://archive.ph/Pipw4
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.
(post is archived)