Bad news and Good about the Bird Flu

Bad news? Human-to-human transmission is possible, something we hadn't seen yet.

Good news? It currently takes a LONG exposure for this to happen. So, the NBC Movie of the Week is still a bit dire, even if there was an outbreak it doesn't look like this would shut everything down. Also, the people sharing the virus are still very much alive.

Question: the Bird Flu kills its human host in a manner similar to the Spanish Influenza from 1918, by turning the immune system against the lungs. Since smoking suppresses the immune response in the lungs, could we recommend smoking until we can get a vaccine to everyone? Just a thought. Smoking was pretty prevalanent among men back when the Spanish Flu broke out. I wonder if there are any stats on smoker/non-smoker mortality.