French researchers are working to determine if nicotine patches can prevent coronavirus infections, prompting global and national health organizations to renew warnings.
Sicker if you contract the virus... doubling your chances of severe complications.
Sarah dallof has the story.
(nats) a study out of france..
Igniting controversy.
Researchers studying if nicotine patches can prevent coronavirus infections.
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Prompting global and national health organizations to renew warnings.
(sot: dr. patrice harris - president - american medical association) "you weren't safe in smoking and vaping pre covid-19 and those risks continue during this pandemic."
Early studies show smokers who contract covid-19 can get much sicker than non-smokers.
Scientists at u-c san francisco found it nearly doubles the rate of disease progression.
And smokers were at greater risk of severe outcomes and death.
The american medical association is calling for national action to reduce smoking and vaping.
(sot: dr. patrice harris - president - american medical association) "covid 19 can be an especially serious threat to those who already have compromised lung function."
A-m-a president, doctor patrice harris says underlying conditions caused, in part, by smoking... including heart and lung disease... and diabetes... weaken the body's response to covid-19 and may be one factor in the virus' disproportionate impact on african american... native american and latino communities.
(sot: dr. patrice harris - president - american medical association) "all of these factors are so interrelated and certainly pre covid-19 they lead to worse health outcomes and now we have this new crisis on top of
According to Reuters a genetic study of samples from over 7,500 people infected with COVID-19 suggest that it started to spread..