It was the sort of news report that made readers spill their morning coffee. A study conducted among patients in a Paris hospital earlier this month revealed that cigarette smoking — an act that the medical fraternity has historically treated with the same disdain that people roaming around without masks are met with these days — might actually make a person less susceptible to contracting a severe case of COVID-19. This hypothesis was based on the idea that nicotine blocks the Coronavirus molecules from attaching themselves to receptors in the human body.

Meanwhile, a simultaneous review of 28 scientific studies, conducted at the University College London, observed that, yes, it does indeed seem that smokers have an in-built protective mechanism against the disease, with a third review undertaken in China positing the same theory. But, could this really be? Multiple other studies have been taking the conventional route of advising against smoking in the wake of the pandemic. So, the layman was left confused with these contradictory reports, even as we gear up to mark World Anti-Tobacco Day this weekend.

Experts tell us that the first factor that must be taken into consideration here is that all the research surrounding the virus is still in a nascent phase, given how novel it is. Dr Kanishka Davda, head of the infectious diseases department at Jupiter Hospital in Thane, explains, "People right now are just bringing forth their experiences to the table. Let's say that there are 500 such theories. You will then have to pick and choose the most plausible ones before reaching a conclusion. But the data [around the Coronavirus] is still too raw to determine whether something is beneficial or not.