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Thanks BJ, here is what jumped out from that article for me...

[But in a study of the first 10 Canadian cases] They noted that of the four Canadians who had a history of smoking, all had required mechanical ventilation, which means they were hit more severely, as compared to only one of the six who had never smoked.

More from Dr. Niman:

I think that the spread of SARS CoV voa mild infections is a significant concern. I think the jury is still out on the role of asymptomatic patients. My main concern is the spread of the SARS CoV, setting the stage for a major epidemic via susceptible patients or additional mutations.

The SARS CoV has mutated significantly since it jumped to humans last fall. The 29 nt deletion, coupled with the 7 Metropole Mutations has set the stage for widespread infection of potentially fatal viral infections.

I think the use of the case definition has done a reasonable job of containing SARS. I suspect it has done a rather poor job of containing the SARS CoV.

Widespread testing of impacted areas like Toronto will help determine how far and wide the virus has spread, If it has been limited to suspect and probable SARS cases, then containment is possible, but still difficult. If it has spread widely into the community, then the Fall flu and cold season will create major problems that will likely dwarf the recent experience, which stretched resources quite thinly in infected areas.

I think that the early PCR data on patients with mild SYMPTOMS, suggests the viral spread has been significant. I don't think that this spread has been closely monitored because infections that cause mild symptoms blend in with symptoms caused by many other diseases.

I also think that retrospective studies measuring SARS CoV antibodies will define the extent of spread, which I believe has been significant in hard hit areas.