“smoking” and “cured” mean something else when talking about meat

It’s a method of preservation that uses what sounds like a sort of play on words (not going to research the etymology) by curing the meat of any pathogens infecting it. The process generally involves adding enough salt, either by brining it (wet), or burying it in salt (dry) to make it a more inhospitable environment for bacteria.

The idea of the meme is that while smoking tobacco damages our body and can cause life-long diseases (the opposite of a cure), smoking a piece of meat would “cure” it.

Though, AFAIK the meme isn’t really correct as smoking ≠ curing, seeing how a cut of meat is usually “cured” or salted first before smoking it. While cold/hot smoking (primarily cold) does help to pull moisture out and adds antibacterial compounds, my experience is that the two are separate preservation techniques, yet are commonly used together.