Interesting that being an ex-smoker increases the risk, but being a current smoker decreases it. Seems like there is some short term benefit to smoking that outweighs its long term negative health effects.
Part of what makes me start again is the desire to avoid spooking others with those flu-like symptoms in the middle of an epidemic, since I live in a densely populated area.
I don’t have a clear idea of what mechanism is at work here, my hypothesis is that the withdrawal somehow suppresses my immune system.
Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, nicotine patches aren’t as good (or useful at all) at reducing the respiratory symptoms in short term. I suppose it’s not purely nicotine withdrawal that’s causing this.
The good news is that these symptoms are temporary.
Public health communications on the benefits of cessation don’t usually mention this. I wonder if that’s a mistake. I would have thought it puts a lot of people off quitting, and maybe if they knew what was happening it would be easier to deal with.
When I have a week or so apart from the crowds, I’ll see how long it takes to push through those symptoms.
(I thought if withdrawal causes immune system suppression, this effect could explain the apparent COVID statistic correlation mentioned by 0-_-0 in parent comment, but from your information it’s unlikely to.)
(This would explain why former smokers are worse off, since they have residual lung damage but no protective nicotine.)
Of course this is all quite hypothetical, and may turn out to be wrong, but I gather it’s biochemically plausible.