Covid 19 and Nicotine: The Alliance Against Tobacco Sets the Record Straight

The Alliance Against Tobacco, a coalition that brings together civil society actors committed to the fight against smoking, has just issued a press release warning of the risks of hasty interpretation of preliminary and imperfect scientific data that could lead to risky extrapolations, even dangerous for smokers. The Alliance Against Tobacco wishes to warn against any hasty resumption of such statements tending to confuse tobacco and nicotine and their respective effects on the evolution of patients with COVID-19.

In this regard, let us recall that:

1. A large number of people can be affected by the coronavirus without, fortunately, developing a serious form of the disease.
2. This virus is particularly dangerous for vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with co-morbidities,
3. COVID 19 is a condition that particularly affects the respiratory tract,
4. Smoking weakens smokers' immune systems and lung capacity,
5. Smokers are at increased risk of developing severe COVID-19.
6. Smoking throughout one's life reduces it by an average of 10 to 15 years.
7. Nicotine is the drug found in tobacco. The composition of tobacco smoke is not limited to nicotine, and there is no current epidemiological evidence to support a possible protective effect of tobacco smoke.
8. Tobacco kills 8 million people worldwide every year.
9. In France, 200 smokers die prematurely every day from their smoking.
10. Quitting smoking at 30 means gaining 10 years of life.

Therefore, the only message for smokers is: stop smoking as soon as possible and do not hesitate to seek help from health professionals, doctors, pharmacists, addiction specialists and the Tobacco Info Service.

To read the Alliance press release.