吸菸不容易得新冠肺炎？這項研究引發了法國的尼古丁禁令

最近世界各地做了不少關於新冠肺炎的研究，但是巴黎的一項新研究成功引起了法國政府的注意，並迫使法國政府下令禁止在網上銷售尼古丁替代品。這到底是一項什麼樣的研究呢？

France on Friday banned online sales of nicotine replacements — such as nicotine gum and patches — after a widely reported Paris study found smokers were less likely to admitted to hospital for COVID-19.

法國於4月24日禁止網上銷售尼古丁膠姆糖和尼古丁貼片等尼古丁替代品。此前，巴黎有一項研究被廣泛報道，該研究指出吸菸者因感染新冠病毒住院的可能性更低。

In a draft legal text published last week, the government warned there could be a run on nicotine replacements thanks to the study. Pharmacies dispensing treatments for tobacco addiction must limit the amount they issue to an individual patient to a single month's supply.

在上週發佈的法律草案中，法國政府警告稱，受這項研究影響，國內可能會掀起一陣搶購尼古丁替代品的熱潮。配發煙癮治療藥物的藥房給個人患者開出的藥量不能超過一個月的劑量。

The text states: "Because of media coverage around the possible protective action of nicotine against Covid-19, there is a strong risk that the dispensing in pharmacies and internet sales of nicotine replacements will experience a surge in the coming days."

草案中寫道：“由於媒體對於尼古丁對新冠肺炎可能有防護作用的報道，藥房和網店配售的尼古丁替代品在未來一段時間極有可能會遭遇搶購風潮。”

The government said the ban would stop people from rushing out and potentially over-consuming nicotine substitutes, as well as ensure a steady supply for patients genuinely being treated for smoking addiction.

法國政府稱，該禁令將阻止人們搶購併攝入過量尼古丁替代品，同時也能確保尼古丁替代品可以穩定供應給真正在治療煙癮的患者。

The decree comes after a Paris hospital study found that the infection rate for smokers among COVID-19 patients was lower than non-smokers. The study factored in around 480 patients at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital. French researchers now plan to hand out nicotine patches to COVID-19 patients and frontline health workers to explore the theory further.

在發佈這一法令前，巴黎的一項醫院研究發現吸菸者感染新冠肺炎的機率低於非吸菸者。該研究涵蓋了皮提耶-薩勒佩特里醫院的約480名患者。爲了進一步探索這一理論，法國研究人員現在計劃向新冠肺炎患者和一線的醫療工作者發放尼古丁貼片。

According to Jean-Pierre Changeux from France's Pasteur Institut, a co-author of the study, the theory is that nicotine may adhere to cell receptors, thus blocking the virus from entering people's cells.

該研究的合著者、法國巴斯德研究所的讓-皮埃爾·昌格斯表示，他們的理論是，尼古丁可能會附着在細胞受體上，從而阻斷病毒進入人體細胞。

Still, the researchers warned of the dangers of nicotine in their study, and that smoking remains extremely dangerous for your health.

儘管如此，研究人員還是在研究報告中警告尼古丁有危險，指出吸菸對健康依然極其有害。

And overall, the research on smoking and nicotine's impacts on COVID-19 patients is nascent. Scientific American notes there's a considerable body of research to show that smoking reduces lung function and increases flu risk. And a study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested Chinese smokers who contracted COVID-19 were more likely to get severe infections. An overview of the current studies on the link between COVID-19 and smoking suggested that COVID-19 patients who smoked were more likely to be admitted to intensive care.

總體來看，這項關於吸菸和尼古丁對新冠肺炎患者作用的研究還處在初級階段。《科學美國人》指出，大量的研究表明，吸菸會降低肺功能，增加患上流感的風險。《新英格蘭醫學期刊》的一項研究指出，在中國，感染新冠肺炎的吸菸者更可能會轉成重症。一份關於新冠肺炎和吸菸之間聯繫的當前研究綜述指出，吸菸的新冠肺炎患者更可能住進重症監護室。

nascent [ˈneɪsnt]: adj. 新興的，初期的