Why the smoking aesthetic is being resuscitated by Gen Z

Gen Zs are bringing cigarettes back, but it’s not in the way that you may think.

Scroll through TikTok, Instagram or fashion photography and cigarettes are slowly appearing in what looks like somewhat curated images.

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Think James Dean posters. But these days, cigarettes are not smoked as much as serving their purpose as an aesthetic accessory to eye candy.

At a time when smoking has largely been pushed out of public life, cigarettes have found an unexpected second life online.

Health warnings, smoking bans and anti-tobacco campaigns have made smoking less socially acceptable than it was for previous generations, yet the imagery of smoking continues to circulate across social media feeds.

The smoking aesthetic trend amongst Gen Zs has sparked debate about why a generation raised on anti-smoking messaging appears fascinated by the imagery of smoking, even if many are not regular smokers themselves.

Netnographer and social forecaster Carmen Murray believes the answer lies less in tobacco and more in what the cigarette represents.

“I think it has a lot to do with the attention economy and the desperate need for visibility in an algorithmic age where people are disappearing on the algorithm and desperately trying to grab attention and going by all means just to go with the flow and go with the trend,” Murray said.

All about the attention economy

Murray said social media has created an environment where people are constantly looking for ways to distinguish themselves from everyone else.

In that environment, aesthetics becomes increasingly important because they communicate identity instantly.

“We are starting to see that we as individuals have to express our originality. We have to express all of our identity so that we don’t get lost in the system.”

While some commentators have compared the trend to old Hollywood glamour, Murray was reminded of another era often romanticised through film and fashion. “It gives me Gatsby vibes,” she said.

Social worker Ingrid Pollak, however, is not convinced there is anything particularly new about the appeal.

“It’s been appealing for as long as I can remember.”

She said the reasons young people are drawn to smoking today are much the same as they were decades ago.

“It’s peer pressure, wanting to look cool, adult and sophisticated. It’s more important to look good amongst peers than to look after one’s health.”

She said younger people often focus on immediate social rewards rather than consequences that may only appear years later.

James Dean’s smoking aesthetic. Picture Wikicommons

The trend has also been linked to anxiety, rebellion, or emotional expression. Pollak said there is unlikely to be a single explanation.

“It could be all three. Would have to do individual case studies to determine which one it is.

“She agreed with Murray that social media plays a powerful role in shaping behaviour and perceptions but reverted to peer pressure as the primary cause.

Anxiety, rebellion or emotional expression

Murray added that the symbolism associated with smoking is often attached to periods of social upheaval, uncertainty, and transformation.

“What emerged during those times was war, mass industrialisation, social dislocation, technological change, old identities and explosive wealth inequality.

“We are seeing the type of behaviours that seem to arise when we have the social setting that we have now.”

Murray added that the cigarette has become part of a broader movement in which young people are embracing visual self-expression through fashion, aesthetics, and carefully crafted personas.

This, in tandem with growing trends around overdressing, free the nipple and other visually driven notions, and using it to create a character rather than simply getting dressed for the day.

“AI has made everybody sound the same, be the same. This has a lot to do with the aesthetic expression of my identity.

“People are also reacting against systems that feel overly managed, optimised, moralised, and digitised. This is almost a way of saying; this is the imperfect,” Murray concluded.

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