it's a driver issue. In cases like this, trying different clients won't help. The best suggestion I can give is to update your drivers. The next best is to make sure your graphics are running in 32-bit color depth. Some old programs will cause the desktop to switch to 16 bit without changing back. What graphics device do you have in your system? (Note: some older intel GPUs are the biggest culprits with this. Best suggestion then is to replace it if possible.)
There has been issues with this for a while, and seems like I recall attempts at debugging it being made, but I don't recall specifics off the top of my head. I'll check a couple of things and see if I can find it, but I don't make promises. (maybe someone else will recall the exact details and be able to post it.) here's the best thread on the matter:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=11168&hilit=smoke+icon#p155977