Given that tobacco use is thought to kill an estimated eight million people every year, a report that claimed that smokers were less likely to contract coronavirus raised eyebrows last week.
The study, by the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris, stated that "current smoking status appears to be a protective factor against the infection by SARS-CoV-2" and that "nicotine may be suggested as a potential preventive agent against COVID-19 infection." But the study also warned that "nicotine is a drug