A preliminary study by French researchers left the medical community baffled when it found that smokers may be 80 percent less likely to catch COVID-19 than non-smokers of the same age and sex. Analyzing public health data, the scientists concluded that out of the 482 patients who visited Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris between February 28th and April 9th, merely 5 percent were daily smokers, according to a report in The Economist.