‘When you're smoking, you're networking by accident’ — tech executives are reviving the smoking pit, and it’s leading to monumental business deals

But most tech workers aren’t just smoking for clicks. Bay Area workers are using cigarette breaks to bond with potential partners and bosses and communicate something about themselves — getting ahead of their peers by doing so.

“When you’re smoking, you’re networking by accident,” Revamp AI cofounder Stephen Campbell told Business Insider. He says cigarettes helped him secure a major deal with an “enormous” Chinese tech company; he also says he hired some of his employees after sharing a cigarette with them.

Silicon Valley tech workers who spend big on wellness are also smoking

It seems like a contradiction that the same tech workers spending big on wellness and longevity are also interested in picking up a smoking habit.

“It’s an unspoken thing that, if someone’s bragging about all their health practices, they’re also very likely smoking a few cigarettes,” Lucas Harris, founder of trading app 10X told Business Insider.

He added that some people are spending $800 a month on wellness treatments in order to balance out their smoking habits. His own smoking habit has gotten him into conversations that shaped his career.

Many of the tech workers getting into smoking are young. So the possibility of being diagnosed with lung cancer might seem far away to them. Or they may think that AI will find the cure for cancer by the time their habit catches up with them.

In either case, it’s clear that some tech workers are fine with jeopardizing their future health for a chance at current career success.

In the long run, smoking cigarettes could cost you more than they’ll earn you

Unfortunately for Silicon Valley locals, it’s unlikely that their big bet on cigs will pay off in the long run.