Plan to study nicotine patches as potential coronavirus treatment

Plans are being made to investigate the potential of nicotine patches to combat Covid-19 after the idea was raised by doctors at a hospital in Wales where the improvised treatment is being practised.

France moved last week to prevent the stockpiling of nicotine products after its health minister took an interest in a French study that suggested smokers may be much less at risk of contracting the virus.

However, doctors in Wales who published their own suggestions in January on the use of the stimulants in coronavirus treatment have been discussing the possibility of a formal trial.

“We saw the pandemic coming from China and then the horrific stories from Italy, so we were doing our own research and looking at as many papers as we could,” said Jonathan Davies, a consultant trauma surgeon at Royal Glamorgan hospital, where physicians have been routinely giving out nicotine patches to patients with coronavirus and who had been smokers.

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The result was a short paper published in the British Medical Journal which stated that, at least in chronic smokers, the lung injuries in those infected with Covid-19 were being exacerbated by nicotine withdrawal. The addictive stimulant could interfere with the production of elements that led to inflammation, according to its authors.

“Of course, everyone should stop smoking. If you are a smoker then you are at risk of all the secondary complications if the virus does take hold,” said Davies. But he suggested in such cases nicotine could be used as a supplement.

The suggestion by Davies and colleagues led to conversations with Prof Judith Hall of Cardiff University, a medical innovator involved in global development who has said she will approach British funding bodies for support to trial the potential role of nicotine in managing Covid-19.

The idea was an interesting one, she said, though its value would be difficult to prove.

“Getting trials under way is of course time-consuming and complicated business, but we must try and advance new ideas as quickly as possible in this crisis,” she added.

In France, research at a major Paris hospital suggested 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.

However, the researchers insisted they were not encouraging the population to start smoking, which carries other potentially fatal health risks and kills 50% of those who take it up.

While nicotine may protect smokers from the virus, those who have caught it often develop more serious symptoms because of the toxic effect of tobacco smoke on the lungs, they say.

The team at Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital questioned 480 patients who tested positive for the virus, 350 of whom were hospitalised while the rest with less serious symptoms were allowed home.