As we discussed, this week the UK signed off on a generational smoking ban that will make it illegal for anyone 18 or younger to buy cigarettes starting next year. There are many ways in which the ban may fail, but I still say it’s a drastic move worth taking in order to finally stomp out the killer of more than 7 million people a year (1.6M of whom are non-smokers). Apparently, I am at odds with the American media in this thinking. Instead, it seems my country heard about the UK ban and collectively responded, “Hold my pack of unfiltereds.” In suspiciously quick succession, multiple cigarette-fond articles have popped up touting how they’re all over Hollywood again, be it on screens, magazine covers, or trays at industry parties. The NY Post had the most revolting coverage by far (on brand): after declaring “smoking is well and truly back — Surgeon General’s warnings be damned,” the Post quoted youths describing why they’ve embraced the comeback of cancer sticks. Some hurlights:
Ashleigh Rodosta, NYC matchmaker & relationship coach: “I’ve definitely seen an uptick in singles describing themselves as ‘sometimes’ smokers — not pack-a-day smokers, but occasional, where it’s tied to nightlife, travel aesthetic and intimacy. … The post-sex cigarette is also making a comeback. … What’s ironic is that many of these same people are otherwise intensely wellness-oriented — cold plunges, peptides, clean eating, the whole thing.”
Rebecca Reingold, 30-year-old NYC comedian: “We’re all adults, and we were educated as best we could be about the dangers of smoking. … So now it’s up to everybody on their own to use that education and make that decision for themselves. … Plus, you don’t know when your time is going to come. God forbid you walk outside and get hit by a bus. So if you want to dabble in a drunk cig from time to time, who cares? You’re doing shots!”
Curt Walker, 25-year-old in NYC: “I like to enjoy a smoke outside of a lounge at night,” Walker, who doesn’t consider himself a habitual smoker but presented his 25th birthday party guests with a spread of cigs on a gold platter, told The Post. “The music’s loud, your martini is strong and it’s a bit warm inside. You head out for a cigarette and it’s a breath of fresh air — you can hear, and the conversation sparks. I’ve met a lot of new people over a cigarette.”
Jared Oviatt, 27-year-old Canadian with the Insta account @cigfluencers: “It’s almost a rejection of wellness culture,” Oviatt told The Post, chalking his own occasional smoking up to a tendency towards nihilism. “Or an acknowledgement of, ‘If I smoke and look a little different 10 years from now than I would have if I hadn’t smoked, I can just reverse it with a facelift or anti-aging serums. It’s this idea that the world is coming to an end anyway, and even if it is, I can change my face in the process.”
Fin Fika, 29-year-old LA content creator & musician: “You have to intentionally smoke a cigarette. … You might talk to someone new, or you might be by yourself, just thinking about something. It’s a little more meditative because of the intention behind it and the time that it takes. … It’s weird, but I feel like smoking just makes me feel more present in the moment. There’s a nostalgia factor linked to them, because they’ve been around for so long. It’s the same way that everyone likes classic cars and how blue jeans are never going out of style, and how a glass bottle of Diet Coke is never not going to be cool. Cigarettes fit in the same category.”
It’s just… I mean… words fail. Where do we go from here? Let’s start by rebutting (yes it’s a smoke pun, but I’m too exasperated to add the exclamation point) these comments. “We’re all adults, and we were educated as best we could be about the dangers of smoking.” Were you?? “You head out for a cigarette and it’s a breath of fresh air…” No, the FRESH AIR is the breath of fresh air! As for Mr. Cigfluencer who thinks he can plastic surgery his way out of any long term ill effects, the Post included a clap back from a doctor who emphatically said no, that’s not the way health, aging, or surgery works. My uncle was a smoker and before cancer took his life, it took half his face off. They gave him a mask that attached magnetically, but the piece was irritating and he vastly preferred keeping it off. Whenever I visited him, I was determined to keep my reaction neutral/relaxed/not a big deal, as I looked him in the eye while the other half of his face was a gaping hole. That’s more than looking “a little different in 10 years.”
The abundantly clear health hazards aren’t enough of a deterrent, which is depressing on its own, but what further crushes my spirit is the underlying motivation: to look cool, to fit in. As if smoking were this year’s Stanley Cup or Labubu. It’s not the smoke, it’s the stupidity.
