The smoke of cigarettes once again crowds the air at house shows and the patios of college students. After decades of public health campaigns against cigarettes, it seems it hasn’t amounted to much, as America’s youth are smoking them once again. With the ongoing quest to be cool, combined with 18 to 20-somethings feeling invincible as ever, cigarettes are back in fashion.
Why are they considered so cool? For decades, cigarette companies worked to shape that perception. “For much of the 20th century, smoking was… a cinematic shorthand for allure, danger, introspection and control. Cigarettes weren’t just props, they were character cues, emotional punctuation marks and marketing tools,” Adriana Albini wrote in Cancerworld Magazine. Because they are considered cool, people are inclined to try them, leaving them vulnerable to getting “hooked.”
“You’ll never forget the feeling of your first cigarette,” Hayden Drew, who has smoked for two years, said.
Gen Z now associates cigarettes with a cooler time, whether it be the 90s, the 50s and so on. We tend to romanticize an older time, and in these older times, people smoked cigarettes — a lot.
One of the most prevalent reasons why people have started smoking again is the social aspect. Many report it’s a unique way to talk with someone that cannot really be replicated.
“(Smoking) only ever happens when I’m with my friends who are consistent cigarette smokers and we are out doing something. We take a break from the action… The cigarette has a lifespan of 5-10 minutes and for those minutes you get to have nice conversation with whoever you’re smoking with,” Robert Kelley said.
“When I get home and (my roommate) is here, I say ‘Wanna go smoke a cigarette?’ I wonder if we’d have that same length of a chat without the cigarette. I’d hope so.” Jensen Corella said.
Proximity is also important in determining whether you become a cigarette smoker or not. If your friend group smokes, you are more likely to join them. If your friend group does not smoke, you likely don’t either.
“I definitely wouldn’t be a cigarette person if I hung out with different friends,” Corella said. Kelley reported he picked up smoking right when he started hanging out with a certain friend group during spring term of 2025.
There is an element of bonding over this shared bad habit. “You get to connect over it. You don’t feel as bad about it… all of those other people are doing it too,” Lucia Cunha said.
But why are all of these people suddenly smoking cigarettes again — why not vaping or Zynning?
It may have to do with Gen Z’s lack of personal experience with the adverse effects of smoking. Gen X witnessed the real physical effects of cigarette smoking in their parents and grandparents, which scared most of them enough to not pick up the habit.
However, since Gen Z’s parents skimped out on smoking, they are largely unaware of the harmful effects. But deep down, the comeback of cigarettes boils down to the fact that they are generally viewed as cooler.
Whether you’re a smoker or not, you cannot deny that cigarettes are here, and perhaps here to stay.
