Sorry, but the quinine in tonic water can’t protect you from coronavirus
By Melissa Malamut, New York Post, March 27, 2020
Tonic water & Lime : Getty Images/iStockphoto
Save the tonic for gin.
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the country, myths and junk science continue to flood social media.
The latest bunk idea? That tonic water can help fight the coronavirus.
Here’s how the rumor started: The cocktail mainstay contains small amounts of quinine, a tree bark extract that has medicinal properties. It’s been used to treat malaria and restless leg syndrome. Quinine’s been in the news because a drug chemically related to it, called hydroxychloroquine, is being used in clinical trials and prescribed in Europe as a potential treatment for the coronavirus.
So, naturally, people are stocking up on tonic water.
Tonic water is flying off the shelves during the coronavirus pandemic. PA Images via Getty Images
The jury’s still out on whether or not hydroxychloroquine works against COVID-19. But one thing experts can agree on is that mixers aren’t medicine.
“You could stockpile as much tonic water as you can get your hands on, and you will never have enough to treat malaria or COVID-19,” Dr. Adam Berman, a medical toxicologist and emergency room physician at Northwell Health, tells The Post.
Historically, tonic water used to have more quinine. When sailors invented the gin and tonic in the early 1800s, they did so because adding gin to their bitter, medicinal tonic — a mix of quinine and water — made it more palatable.
But “the quinine in tonic today is a minuscule amount,” says Berman. “And the drug they are looking at, hydroxychloroquine, is not quinine. It’s a cousin. In the same family but not the same. The thought, though, is it affects immune function and may help your body fight off viruses.”
So, basically, if you have the coronavirus, chugging tonic water won’t do much beyond helping to keep you hydrated. You’ll probably just spend a lot of time burping — or reeling from a major hangover, if taken with gin.
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