When smoke first came out, most people didn't use it.  You'd see it once or twice in five games.  When I was playing last night I saw 4-8 smokes in every single game.

And let's not ignore another issue: smoke bombs used in naval warfare?  Rofl bye, realism.

highly subjective regarding this, good players can utilise it very well bad players will suck so yeah

it does not make you better or worse

smoke is overly used i see other subs smoke b4 they rush then die i know its good thing for sneaky bb3-4s pop a smoke then suprises the bb5s who r fighing toe to toe but if i see a player when he/she sees a large group of shells they pop a smoke well why use when your crippled and gonna get sunk when a well placed blockshot can pretty much cover end to end of the smoke

maybe develope a type of 'physical smoke' too..

these smoke not only makes u invisible..it also helps u  absorb shells

Interesting comments. Find smoke a resonable resource when I run outta air in the midst of HH/surfaced SS hysteria. Often gives me just enough air recharge time while running around the edge to get back under and finish off the offender(s) that is/are pouring shells and HH into the middle of the cloud.

Additionaly, if I've been outted by a snitch FF, it gives an advantage on torp deployment to neutralize the speedy little irritation(s), and allows me to manuver into a more advantageous position relative incoming subs. Granted, as a sub, if I'm forced to make the decision to surface, things are not ideal, but it's a tactic available to remain engaged in the battle. 

It's a nuance of the game. Suck it up and develop the skills to negate it. 

Why all the whining?  

Yes its better, if you use it only in medication :) but not too much because its so expensive :) helping your jam mate to cover you, LOL