Smoking isn't just wreaking havoc on your health. It might also be killing your dating game.
According to newly released statistics from the the dating app Hinge, men who self-identify as smokers are rejected 89 percent of the time. In other words, they're 61 percent more likely to be rejected than their smoke-free counterparts.
Unlike other dating apps, Hinge lets people assign themselves 50 predetermined personality traits, such as "history buff," "foodie," "night owl" and "smoker." Using these specific traits, the app's algorithm can quickly learn what users like and what they don't. In this case, smokers are getting a big thumbs down.
While the percentage of Americans that smoke has been steadily declining in recent years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 20.5 percent of adult men are smokers. Adults aged 25 to 44 are the most likely to smoke.
Interesting, considering that 90 percent of Hinge's user base is between 23 and 36 years of age, roughly in that same age cohort.
That being said, Hinge founder Justin McLeod isn't especially surprised by the data. "Statistically, college graduates smoke less than the general population (11% vs 20% respectively)," he told The Huffington Post over email. "With 99% of Hinge's users being college-educated, we'd anticipate that non-smokers are more likely to be attracted to fellow nonsmokers."
Obviously, Hinge's demographics don't represent a fair sampling of the country at large, but other recent reports paint a similar picture.
A survey published in February from Match.com and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer found that 89 percent of people on Match.com preferred to date a non-smoker.
In case there aren't already enough reasons to quit smoking, maybe this will be the one to tip the scales.