Doctor makes shocking claim smokers were 'immune' to COVID and reveals bizarre reason why

A doctor has claimed that people who smoke were less affected by Covid-19 than non-smokers.

Dr Peter McCullough spoke to Theo Von on his podcast in a clip which has now started to again go viral on social media, and made the claim about coronavirus.

As many of us will know too well, coronavirus is a respiratory condition which has a more severe impact on people who are immunocompromised in some way.

This might include people with an underlying health condition, the elderly, very young, or pregnant.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also highlighted that if someone does not have healthy lungs then this could also exacerbate symptoms, with smoking being extremely bad for your lungs, and as a result smoking making you more susceptible to Covid-19.

Smoking is bad for you (SimpleImages/Getty)

But despite this McCullough instead insisted that the opposite is true, telling the podcast host that smokers were actually less vulnerable to covid than non-smokers, and that they 'got very mild cases' and 'don’t get long covid'.

When Von asked McCullough why this is, he gave a strange reason.

"Because smokers maintain a level of nicotine in the bloodstream," he said. "Smoking blocks the spike protein. It’s amazing. I thought smokers were going to go down."

McCullough even went on to claim that 'nicotine patches are perfectly safe' and that people should use them if they have Long Covid.

Cleveland Clinic advises that if taken in excess, including through patches or vapes, nicotine can cause symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, dizziness, increased heart rate, and abdominal pain.

McCullough is a cardiologist and vocal campaigner against vaccination.

Covid can have a big effect on the respiratory system (d3sign/Getty)

His claims in the interview contradict the advice of the WHO, which says that smoking increases a patient's vulnerability to the effects of Covid-19, including making them more susceptible to a severe infection.

Advice on smoking and Covid-19 on the WHO website says: "Tobacco users have a higher risk of being infected with the virus through the mouth while smoking cigarettes or using other tobacco products.

"If smokers contract the COVID-19 virus, they face a greater risk of getting a severe infection as their lung health is already compromised."

It goes on to urge public health programs to discourage smoking as part of a broader effort to push back against covid, saying: "To protect the public from the devastating health consequences of tobacco use, WHO urges national authorities to follow its recommendations and their commitments under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, within the context of their response to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Smoking is also of course linked to a huge number of medical conditions including increased risk of cancer and heart disease.