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Amid the resurgence of smoking among celebrities and influencers, a recent study shows that 57 per cent of young people think it’s fashionable, despite the risks being so well-known.
Of every trend to make a comeback, smoking was an unlikely contender.
It’s 2024, after all, the year that saw efforts to address nicotine addiction take centre stage.
In the UK, Labour has banned disposable vapes and moved to prohibit anyone from lighting up outdoors.
In the rest of the world, governments have introduced bills to prevent young people from buying cigarettes and the tobacco industry has faced mounting pressure to limit its catastrophic environmental impact.
It isn’t just regulatory bodies determined to leave this behind, either.
Social media users have been echoing the same sentiment for some time now, with health-conscious Gen Zers in particular quick to call out those promoting the bad habit online.
paul mescal and natalie portman spotted in london pic.twitter.com/3OXAdTQ7mU
— best of paul mescal (@bestofmescal) May 30, 2024
This appears to have changed, however. According to a recent study, and despite the risks being so well-known (it’s still the leading cause of preventable death in Britain) 57 per cent of young people think that smoking is fashionable because celebrities and influencers do it.
The pivot from covert to overt displays of this in popular culture is to blame, with Charli XCX, Addison Rae, and Paul Mescal among the famous figures most at fault.
There’s Charli telling fans to pick up a pack of cigs if they really want to embody the Brat vibe. There’s Addison with not one but two in her mouth in her latest music video. And there’s Paul saying he refused to quit when getting into shape for an upcoming film after images of him lighting up outside a London pub went viral and became the ‘greatest cigarette propaganda’ since Mad Men’ as defined by journalist Hunter Harris.
Clearly, smoking is in again – but why? Arguably, its resurgence comes down to the fact that the stereotypical image of a smoker is no longer discomfort-inducing, but aesthetically infused with glamour, sophistication, and hedonism.
