FRANCE on Friday restricted sales of nicotine substitutes after research published this week suggested nicotine may offer some protection against infection by the new coronavirus. The Health Ministry said in a decree it aimed to avoid a shortage of products such as nicotine patches for patients and to prevent the wrong use and overuse, of substitutes used to fight nicotine dependence. Under the decree, pharmacies are not allowed to sell more than a month’s worth of substitutes until May 11 when France is to begin easing lockdown measures and reopening schools. The decree also said that online sales were suspended. A study by researchers at Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris showed that smokers were less infected with the virus than other people. It also showed that nicotine could prevent the virus from entering cells. Researchers warned nevertheless that smokers who did become infected with coronavirus would develop more severe cases. (SD-Agencies) |