[tombert]

Absolutely.

I had a job once where my manager and the CEO were both fairly frequent smokers, and so the people at the company that smoked would go outside and join them on their smoke breaks. I noticed that these people were frequently the ones who got bonuses and the benefit of the doubt compared to the people who didn't smoke, I think simply because they had more exposure with the leaders.

I didn't (and don't) smoke, so it was always a bit awkward for me. I suppose I could have just hung out with them as they smoked and I didn't, but I never did that.

[madaxe_again]

Yeah, I literally took up smoking for business. British retail magnates pretty much all chain smoke. Going and hanging out at the smoking area at a trade show was a great way to meet prospects, and more than a few deals were shaken on while we nipped out of a sales meeting for a fag.

Horrible for your health. Great for your career.