Smoker

     The Smoker  is an Infected with a long, whip-like tongue. The Smoker's tongue can be launched out of its mouth at high speeds, and when it reaches one of the Survivors, it automatically wraps around the target's body and drags him/her back towards the Smoker. If any obstacles block the victim from being dragged to the Smoker, he will choke his target instead.

 The Smoker has been heavily mutated by a strain of the Infection and frequently makes high-pitched rasping and coughing noises that can alert Survivors of its presence. Though it resembles most Common Infected, it is taller, more durable, and its skin has become covered in growths that cause little spurts of green smoke and blood to ooze out when shot. It is said that the smoke it expels gives off a putrid smell, but it is otherwise harmless. The left side of its face is bloated and appears to be covered by a large tumor. Though its mentality is similar to that of the typical Infected, it is not distracted by things such as the flashing lights of pipe bombs, nor is it attracted by car alarms going off. When constricted, Survivors have a brief moment (1-2 seconds) to shoot the offending Smoker before their arms are ensnared by the tongue. If they fail, the Survivor is helplessly dragged off, and will take damage until they die or are rescued through the use of a melee attack, the tongue being severed or the death of the Smoker. The Smoker claws at an ensnared Survivor when they are dragged all the way back to him, while at the same time the Survivor takes damage from the tongue constricting them if an obstacle obstructs them from being dragged to the Smoker. If a Survivor isn't dragged all the way back to a Smoker due to an obstruction (eg. a Horde surrounding the Survivor), the Survivor will only take damage from the tongue's squeeze (this damage seems to be the same as when the Smoker is clawing at them, however). When killed, a Smoker leaves a haze of dark green smoke, obscuring the vision of the Survivors and causing them to cough if they stand in it. Like most other Special Infected, a melee hit from the Smoker does about twice as much damage as the Horde.

Some have suggested that the mutated "tongue" could actually be intestines. Occasionally, when killing the Smoker, hundreds of feet of "tongue" will spew from its mouth, supporting the intestines theory. A second theory leading to the Smoker's mutation is that the strain of infection has caused a type of fungus or similar bacteria to grow along its face. This could be responsible for the spore or smoke clouds and its tongue(s), since in many cases, fungi have been known to grow tentacle-like appendages that appear similar to tongues. This is supported by the fact that upon death, the Smoker's mutated tongue disappears, and you can see the true tongue in his mouth. A third theory is that the Smoker had cancer (probably tongue or throat) before becoming infected. This is supported by the fact that cancer occurs when a cell or group of cells mutate to the point the hayflick limit breaks, so the cells don't stop reproducing. Since there are cancerous growths all over the Smoker's face and upper torso along with the extra tongues protruding from the growths, this may be true; it would also explain how the Smoker's tongue regrows so quickly after being snapped from the base. A fourth theory is that part of the Infection gives the Smoker regenerative abilities, similar to cancer.

