It must have worked for him, because they make a point of not saying so anywhere in the article. They don't dare. Just like when they publish a crime story about "urban yutes", without any names, descriptions or pics of the accused. Without meaning to, their deliberate obfuscation of facts ends up pointing in the direction of the truth. The problem with throwing smoke is always going to be that, while it may hide your exact, immediate location from an observer, it also gives away your general location to everybody.