Of course they cause problems as well, you not believing it doesn't change profiler facts.
I can also easily point you on CppCon, C++Now and WWDC talks, where presenters spend valuable time of their lifes speaking about matters you don't believe.
Can I see the profiler data that shows AddRef/Release being a performance bottleneck?
Can I see the profiler data that shows AddRef/Release being a performance bottleneck?