[bartc]

I'm guessing it's more difficult to contract a respiratory illness if your lungs are already damaged, malfunctioning, and covered in tar.

Plus, smokers are not exactly the pinnacle of health. They would be less likely to voluntarily test for COVID and would be less concerned with coughing and wheezing, since those are more normal occurrences.

Smokers are also more likely to be in the same political mindset as people who would ignore or lie about positive test results, intentionally do a bad job of testing, etc.