The New-Worst Gen Z Trend- Cigarettes
The New-Worst Gen Z Trend- Cigarettes
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00:00 of my generation things that we do
00:02 that I find very positive and hopeful.
00:04 But today is not one of those days
00:07 because my generation has decided
00:08 to make cigarettes trendy again.
00:11 - You what?
00:11 - Now it seems like my entire generation
00:14 should know how bad they are for you.
00:16 Like we all grew up learning about how terrible they are
00:18 for our bodies and one would think
00:20 that how we were raised would stick.
00:22 But if there is anything that I've learned from social media
00:25 it's that nothing is original.
00:27 Every trend is pulled from the past.
00:29 I mean just look at fashion these days
00:31 and it seems like cigarettes are now coming back into style
00:34 which I'm sorry, I personally hate it.
00:36 Before we get into it though,
00:37 make sure that you like this video,
00:38 subscribe to this channel if you have not already
00:39 and ring that notification bell
00:41 so that you never miss a comment section
00:42 or off the clock episode.
00:43 For as long as I've been alive,
00:45 the propaganda surrounding smoking and cigarettes
00:47 had been long exposed.
00:49 Like we know about those old ads saying like,
00:51 "Doctors recommend this brand
00:52 "and you know this brand's great for women's health."
00:54 Like we know that all of those ads were bought
00:56 and paid for by the tobacco industry.
00:58 Very similar to what we now know about alcohol
01:00 and about how those studies that said,
01:02 "Oh, you know just a glass of wine
01:03 "is really good for your brain."
01:04 That was bogus that was paid for by the alcohol industry.
01:07 Now my generation has grown up
01:08 knowing about these harmful consequences of smoking
01:11 and research would reflect that cigarette sales
01:13 have gone down tremendously over the past few decades.
01:15 And here is a graph for us visual folks.
01:17 You can see straight on down.
01:19 And this is obviously a great healthy trend to see.
01:22 And with all the resources and stories that we have now,
01:24 I am sure that everybody has either learned
01:26 why they're terrible in school or from doctors
01:28 or just from existing in 2023
01:31 or has experienced it firsthand
01:32 with somebody that they know dealing with addiction,
01:35 throat cancer, lung cancer, you name it.
01:37 But in 2020, this trend of decreasing sales finally broke.
01:42 - Somehow smoking returns.
01:43 - Cigarettes are having a renaissance
01:46 and Gen Z is driving it.
01:47 And I blame celebrities
01:49 because there are so many younger celebrities,
01:51 younger influencers that are out in public
01:53 smoking cigarettes in front of paparazzi,
01:55 posting them on their Instagram story,
01:56 kind of like a cool aesthetic thing,
01:58 which has just got to be an awful influence
02:00 on all the younger people looking up to them
02:01 because obviously these celebrities are idolized.
02:03 For example, here's a picture of Dua Lipa back in June.
02:06 She posted this on her Instagram.
02:07 Like there's a comment on there and it's like,
02:09 "Fuck all the anti-smoke comments.
02:11 "You're so sexy when you smoke."
02:12 Obviously people are hyping her up,
02:14 showing that it is, you know, I guess cool.
02:16 And then Jenna Ortega, the young actress
02:18 who is the title role in the Netflix show Wednesday,
02:21 she caused a holster online
02:23 that was also in June of this year.
02:25 When these paparazzi photos went viral,
02:27 this is her having coffee with a friend of hers,
02:29 smoking, lighting up her cigarette, all of that.
02:32 Her mother, who is on Instagram very publicly,
02:34 a lot of people follow her.
02:35 She's not some influencer,
02:36 but people found her account
02:38 because of being associated with Jenna.
02:39 She is a nurse.
02:40 She even took to Instagram the next day
02:42 to make some not so subtle comments
02:45 about her daughter's new very public habit,
02:47 like posting this meme saying,
02:48 "Don't believe those lies about cigarettes being bad for you.
02:51 "I've been smoking them for most of my 21 years
02:53 "and I feel great."
02:54 (crying)
02:55 My precious.
02:56 Then right after she posted a story
02:58 about lung cancer and a few other ones.
02:59 Obviously she is a nurse.
03:01 She has a right to talk about that.
03:03 I also feel like she and my mother would really get along,
03:05 although my mother would not post that on social media.
03:07 She would just find some way to haul my 21 year old adult
03:10 butt back to Idaho and ground me
03:12 if I was caught dead smoking a cigarette in public.
03:14 Jenna Ortega and Dua Lipa
03:15 are not the only ones smoking far from it.
03:18 And news outlets are catching onto this trend.
03:19 I mean, here's an article from just last week.
03:21 Young celebrities like Timothee Chalamet
03:22 are smoking cigarettes.
03:23 Here's why it matters, say public health experts.
03:25 I also feel like it's just a very European thing.
03:28 Timothee Chalamet, I think he's half French.
03:30 Lily Rose Depp is also smoking a lot.
03:32 She's, I think her mom is French, I'm pretty sure.
03:34 Anyway, the article says,
03:35 "In fact, Florence Pugh and Anya Taylor-Joy, both 27,
03:38 "and Jenna Ortega and Lily Rose Depp, both 20,
03:40 "have all been photographed smoking cigarettes this year."
03:42 Chalamet's rumored girlfriend, Jenna,
03:43 was also caught holding what looked like
03:45 to be a pack of cigarettes.
03:47 And Dua Lipa, 28, has posted Instagram photos herself
03:49 featuring cigarettes.
03:50 One which garnered a comment,
03:51 "The fact that you smoke occasionally is super sexy."
03:54 And listen, I don't really like or trust
03:57 most public health experts,
03:58 especially after what we went through in 2020,
04:00 but I agree with them on this one.
04:02 And that last comment is super important
04:04 because all of this is for the aesthetic.
04:07 And I think that is my biggest problem here.
04:09 I get it because we all love the photos
04:11 of old Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe
04:13 smoking her long, skinny cigarettes
04:15 and like the Cary Grant of the world
04:16 with his like beautiful suits and his slicked back hair
04:18 and he's smoking it.
04:19 It's like, oh, it's like hot.
04:20 If you love old Hollywood, I know you get it.
04:22 Men in high-waisted pants.
04:24 Not Harry Styles, but Cary Grant.
04:26 Just saying.
04:26 Like I'm sure we all have photos of our grandfathers
04:28 back when they were like 22 years old
04:29 smoking a cigarette looking, you know, fly as hell.
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05:43 And hopefully, you've got some very cool photos
05:45 of your grandfather smoking a cigarette
05:47 because you should not be doing that.
05:48 And there's something very nostalgic about it,
05:50 but that doesn't make it a good or healthy habit.
05:53 And a lot of celebrities like this
05:54 and influencers on TikTok and Instagram
05:56 are trying to make this fashionable
05:58 and a cute social thing that they do to meet people
06:01 or they only do when they're drinking,
06:03 which is literally just them trying to convince themselves
06:05 that it's not bad and they're not addicted
06:06 and it's not a bad habit.
06:07 Let's just check out a few of these videos.
06:08 - I am not condoning smoking cigarettes.
06:12 Don't do it.
06:14 But I do think it's okay for me to sometimes smoke a ciggy
06:17 because if I go outside,
06:18 I can always become friends with people on my block.
06:21 Like, if I'm not doing that,
06:22 how else am I supposed to just look at people and do this?
06:25 You know, the universal head nod?
06:28 I think I'm like best friends
06:30 with like three people on my block now.
06:31 - Listen, if you wanna do a universal head nod, get a Jeep.
06:34 That's all they do all day long.
06:36 They wave the finger and they nod.
06:38 If you want that so badly, there are other options.
06:40 I'm telling you, here's another one.
06:42 Like this guy doesn't even smoke.
06:43 He wrote, "I don't even smoke,
06:44 but I was thinking about how smoking
06:45 is such a cute activity.
06:47 Like apart from the lung cancer, money spent,
06:49 nicotine addiction, and all of that,
06:50 the smoker community is so cute
06:52 with their lighter sharing, cutting together,
06:54 socializing through smoking.
06:55 Nobody ever talks about that."
06:56 Well, they're talking about it now
06:58 because it's a trend on TikTok, damn it.
07:01 And no, it's not a cute or a fun way
07:03 to get to know your neighbor.
07:04 Like there are other ways to be social and make friends.
07:07 Just like I said with drinking,
07:09 you do not need to rely on an objectively
07:11 unhealthy substance as a crutch.
07:14 You will be better off without them, I guarantee it.
07:16 You do not need to just go outside
07:17 to smoke a cigarette in order to make a friend.
07:18 If you are struggling socially,
07:20 I promise there are other ways to get over that.
07:22 The worst part of this was not just the videos
07:24 of people like deciding that this was cute or a trend.
07:26 It was the comments hyping them up and agreeing.
07:28 Like this person said, "I love this.
07:29 It's so cute and social."
07:31 Somebody else said, "The lighter sharing is too cute."
07:33 Another person said, "Honestly, 50% of why people
07:35 keep smoking is because of that community feeling.
07:37 Also, it is always a great excuse
07:39 to go outside for some fresh air."
07:40 (siren blaring)
07:41 I would not consider secondhand smoke fresh air.
07:44 I understand the nostalgic aspect of it.
07:46 I understand the aesthetic.
07:48 And I do understand that people are desperate for community.
07:50 Like there's this whole topic of conversation
07:52 about third places, and I wanna do a full episode
07:54 about this, but psychologists have said
07:55 that we are severely lacking third places.
07:57 And you know, your first place is your home.
07:59 Your second place is either school or work.
08:01 And we used to have third places where people would go
08:03 to just, you know, drink coffee together, read a book,
08:06 be part of their community, be involved
08:08 when they're not working.
08:09 Like it's not going to a coffee shop and working remotely.
08:10 It's going to a coffee shop to like sit
08:12 and talk with people.
08:13 We are severely lacking those third places as a society.
08:16 So obviously people are finding that through other means,
08:19 whether that's standing outside and smoking
08:21 or just spending time online.
08:22 Because for a lot of people, for a lot of my generation,
08:24 the third place is social media.
08:26 It is TikTok.
08:27 It is watching these YouTube videos.
08:29 So obviously I understand that socially
08:31 people are struggling, but again, you don't have to rely
08:33 on an objectively bad, unhealthy habit.
08:36 Somebody else said, "Also at work, you get a better bond
08:37 "with others that smoke as you freeze outside."
08:40 Another person said, "You have a lighter,
08:41 "instant friendship begins."
08:43 Somebody else said, "Met so many mates at uni
08:44 "through smoking, it's like an adult friendship stop.
08:47 "It's unreal."
08:47 I'm sorry, but I hate it.
08:49 It isn't cool.
08:50 It isn't social.
08:51 There are other ways to make yourself feel cool
08:52 or confident without harming yourself
08:54 and the people around you.
08:55 - Hey kid, you look good with that cigarette.
08:57 Kinda sophisticated.
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10:40 And to wrap all of this up,
10:42 while I was researching this whole topic,
10:44 I found this next video, and I gotta say,
10:46 this might be the cure to my generation smoking cigarettes.
10:49 I only smoke cigarettes because I think
10:51 it makes me look cool, okay?
10:53 Ever try just eating an apple?
10:58 I don't care, there is something so,
11:01 so like rebellious and juvenile about eating an apple,
11:07 like an asshole, like this little like slack wrist.
11:11 I think if you took any picture of like Bob Dylan
11:15 smoking a cigarette and replaced it with an apple,
11:19 same exact vibe.
11:20 I feel cool, I feel cool.
11:24 I promise you all, you do not need cigarettes
11:26 to rely on being cool.
11:27 When you have, when you have literally anything else,
11:30 it's an accessory and sorry, but for most of my generation,
11:32 I think that it's probably a crutch.
11:34 Somebody commented and said,
11:35 "Am I supposed to eat an apple at the club?
11:36 "I'm in."
11:37 Yes, another person said,
11:38 "Eating an apple in public is so cool."
11:40 You're so right.
11:41 Oh my God, somebody else said, "Low key might switch."
11:43 Like this is like me showing up to parties in college
11:45 with snacks because I wanted to have something to do
11:47 with my hands that wasn't just drinking
11:48 and dancing awkwardly.
11:49 I never brought an apple, but maybe I should have.
11:51 I usually brought baguettes.
11:52 Anyway, guys, smoking is not a trend
11:54 that we need to bring back or rebrand.
11:56 Do not give the tobacco industry this win
11:58 and that's really what you're doing.
11:59 This is an unhealthy habit
12:00 and we should continue to leave it in the past.
12:03 Thank you for watching the comment section.
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12:16 at I'm Brett Cooper.
12:17 See you next time.
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