One of my best friends (he was my best man) is a regular and fairly heavy smoker. I don't get to see him very often (the last time was late September and before that April).

True, smoking isn't necessarily a sigil of stupidity or bastardliness, but people who are truly unpleasant or thoughtless are in my experience more likely to smoke; just because everyone who smokes isn't like that doesn't alter the overall situation. :-(