Why Is Gen Z Smoking? (Exclusive)
Why Is Gen Z Smoking? (Exclusive)
Cara Lynn ShultzFri, June 19, 2026 at 1:59 PM UTC
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Stock image of teens smokingCredit: NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty -
Smoking is becoming cool again — this time among Gen Z
Cigarettes are showing up more in pop culture and are being glamorized on social media
Young people seem not to care about the dangers of smoking, which experts believe to be a sign of disillusionment
Smoking is back — this time among Gen Z.
Years after Gen X and Millennials were blasted with anti-smoking campaigns and cigarette bans, young people are turning to cigarettes as an alternative to vapes, as well as to socialize, exude a cool, detached aesthetic and express their nihilistic view in an uncertain world.
"In the last decade we've been so focused on curbing the vaping epidemic that we kind of took our hand off of the lever of tobacco," Melissa Little, associate professor in Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia, tells PEOPLE. "People thought, 'We've fixed this problem. Everybody knows tobacco is so bad for them.' "
But the younger generation, which popularized flavored vapes, was not getting the message. As she explains, "A lot of kids turn to cigarettes to get off of vapes and even nicotine pouches because those are very addictive," she says, explaining that the reasoning is that going outside to smoke a cigarette takes more effort than discreetly hitting a vape indoors.Now they are turning to a more old-school way to get their nicotine buzz. "We forgot how much money the tobacco industry pours into movies and music and campaigns and influencers, and that kind of caught up with us," Little says.
Stock image of a young woman holding a lighterCredit: Getty
"Smoking has never gone away from being this anti-establishment, cool thing," she says. "But now it's becoming even more popular and more acceptable — and socially acceptable in movies, music, and pop culture in a way that we haven't seen in a really long time."
As Little tells PEOPLE, in 2023, "We saw a big increase in the number of movies depicting tobacco. It was the first increase since 2020, and it increased 70% compared to movies released the previous year." In 2024, she says, "Over half of the top box office films contained depictions of tobacco."
She also shared that social media influencers are couching smoking as "something that can increase or enhance your performance," she says. "It's almost being touted like caffeine; people say it can increase physical performance and mental clarity without really acknowledging what it is, where it comes from, and the long-term addictive properties."
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Another appeal of smoking, especially in a tech-heavy world where people feel socially isolated, is that "It forces them outside, it forces them into conversations," Little says. People are getting tired of constant screens, technology and AI. "This is kind of a revolt against all of that."
Stock image of a young woman using a vapeCredit: Getty
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There is another element at play. "There is disillusionment in this generation — they are feeling a lot of pressure overall," she says. "They're graduating from college and finding that it's not a great job market. AI is booming and they're questioning their role in the workforce and how they fit in. I think cigarette smoking kind of harkens back to an older time when things were simpler and you could just go outside, smoke a cigarette, be with your friends."
"They're thinking, 'What am I gonna do, right? I can't buy a house. My job is gonna get overtaken by AI. Like, the planet's dying. Who knows what's happening with our country? What does it matter if I smoke a cigarette?' "
Unlike older generations, younger kids may not have seen a grandparent struggle with emphysema or lung cancer. "The vaping epidemic kind of distracted us and it also allowed for this generation to not know as much about the harms of cigarette smoking," Little says.
"This is the beginning of a trend," she says. "It's a call to action. We all need to get on top of this. Every parent, every teacher, we all need to start doing our part because that's how we can fight this."
She adds: "If we wait for public health officials, I think we're going to have another epidemic on our hands."
on People
Source: “AOL Breaking”
