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January 17, 2025 Login
Opinion

Cigarettes' allure rises, harming youth

By Zoe Whitman, January 10th, 2025

The attraction of smoking has yet to be crushed. Despite smoking being at an 80-year-low and prominent anti-smoking campaigns, smoking has regrettably become "cool" again. At New York Fashion Week in February, models strutted down the runway with lit cigarettes in hand. In her "Aquamarine" music video — which has been viewed over four million times — Addison Rae smokes two cigarettes at once. Pop star Charli XCX and her Brat Summer depicted cigarettes as a cool addition to one's outfit and aesthetic. This is alarming considering that cigarettes are known to be harmful for both those smoking and those around them via secondhand smoke. In the face of this resurgence, the romanticization of cigarettes must be mitigated for the sake of young people's health.

Smoking started its fall from glory in 1964 when the U.S. Surgeon General declared it caused lung cancer. This happened during the generations of many high schoolers' parents. As a result, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are some of the most educated on smoking's ill effects. Hence, one would think it would be hard for smoking to regain a foothold. However, many youth don’t want to be like their parents — they want a little rebellion. In fact, some research studies have found that the graphic "preventative" warning labels on cigarettes might encourage youth to smoke in defiance of authority. And while anti-smoking ads have helped tremendously, 2.25 million middle and high schoolers still use tobacco products regularly.

In addition, many kids today know people who smoke. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four high schoolers have reported smoking in the last 30 days. This means that kids are not only being desensitized to smoking, but they also now see people who smoke and, potentially, appear to be healthy. While smoking can stain teeth and make one cough, it may take years for someone to be diagnosed with a lung disease. It’s not until later that the detrimental impacts are taken into account: obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, emphysema, and an increase in pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Watching celebrities embrace smoking has opened a new chapter in the fight against tobacco. If someone you look up to does something, most people will want to follow suit. When teenagers see Charli XCX get gifted a bouquet of cigarettes and light up at her concerts, they are then motivated to pick up their own Bic lighter and pack of cancer sticks.

Teenagers pray to be cool, following the trend cycle while trying to stay unique. Now that many are embracing cigarettes, they want to participate. Smoking will forever be one of the worst choices, promoting cancer and polluting the earth. To eliminate smoking, cigarettes have to lose their coolness and be seen as what they are: a disaster. Nevertheless, combating centuries of cultural practice, no matter how harmful, will be a difficult fight.