Astronomy

Good question. According to this article, the process going on with Betelgeuse does sound like the same or very similar to the process described in OP's article.

The great dimming [of Betelgeuse] was caused by the star spitting out a lump of gas and dust, like chewing gum: or what scientists call a “surface mass ejection” caused by an “anomalously hot convective plume”.

OP's article doesn't say that the Old Smokers they found are red super-giants but since they called them old smokers, I'm inclined to think that they are. Also because they say that smoke contains much higher levels of heavy elements than is common in the region which would also be consistent with older stars. The article doesn't say whether or not the stars puff out smoke on a regular schedule like Betelgeuse does, but then maybe they haven't been watching them long enough to see a pattern yet.

It does seem like they found a bunch of older stars that are pre-supernova, just like Betelgeuse is, and burping out clouds of gas and dust.