“So many?” What peer-reviewed clinical study has measured the incidence of shingles specifically during smoking cessation? Please quantify “so many” and provide your research citation, so that we all can learn from the science.
I am very sorry for everyone who has suffered from shingles. It must be especially tough to go through that when quitting. My sympathies to everyone who has endured it.
But what causes reactivation of the virus is a compromised immune system. Many factors can impede our bodies’ immune responses. Stress from quitting… OR stress from a tough job… OR family situations… OR a hundred other things.
Quitting Girl’s observation that age gradually weakens our immunity and makes us more vulnerable is fact-based:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4928389/
https://www.healthline.com/health/what-causes-shingles-to-activate
At the end of the day, I think the most important thing to take away from this thread is that sometimes life hands us double whammys. Unexpected illnesss. Deaths in the family. Relationship woes or money troubles. All of these things can really challenge a quit. It surely sucks when that happens. But what counts the most is how we’re able to persevere, KTQ and help each other out along the way.