This seems like it's missing the forrest for the trees. COVID19 is a strain of flu and like all flus, it affects the respiratory system. For this reason, COVID

This seems like it's missing the forrest for the trees. COVID19 is a strain of flu and like all flus, it affects the respiratory system. For this reason, COVID19's mortality rate is 2.8% among men in China, compared to 1.9% among women, which can at least partially be attributed to men smoking at a rate of >50% whereas women smoke at a rate of 2% in China. [1] I think that the thread's focus on the interplay between the healthcare system and the spread of COVID19, which imho is going to be lessened because of fears of the virus making people more likely to go to the hospital. On the other hand, The US overall has fewer smokers[2], which makes the effects of COVID19 less likely to be severe on those who do get it. Most cases are mild[3], so its more important to see where the severe cases will be, rather than cases overall [1]https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/health/coronavirus-men-women.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/health/coronavirus-men-wo... [2]http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/smoking-rates-by-country/ http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/smoking-rates-by-... [3]https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/world/asia/coronavirus-treament-recovery.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/world/asia/coronavirus-tr...