For those nitpicking the preprint's (gasp!) lack of editing and clarity here's an article with some further (rather convincing) background and stats. "French re

For those nitpicking the preprint's (gasp!) lack of editing and clarity here's an article with some further (rather convincing) background and stats. "French researchers to test nicotine patches on coronavirus patients"[1] > The results confirm a Chinese study published at the end of March in the New England Journal of Medicine that suggested only 12.6% of 1,000 people infected with the virus were smokers while the number of smokers in China is around 28%. In France, figures from Paris hospitals showed that of 11,000 patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19, 8.5% were smokers. The total number of smokers in France is estimated at around 25.4%. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/22/french-study-suggests-smokers-at-lower-risk-of-getting-coronavirus https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/22/french-study-s...