Are Pop Stars Making Smoking Cool Again?

Cigarette imagery is resurfacing in pop culture, not through traditional advertising but through the self-staging of some of today’s biggest female stars.

Artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and Lorde are incorporating cigarettes into music videos, photo shoots, and lyrics, using them as visual symbols of attitude, rebellion, or nostalgia.

Media researchers note that these images, once common in the 1960s and ’70s, are appearing more frequently again, especially among young female performers who draw from earlier eras of artistic self-empowerment. While the trend doesn’t necessarily reflect personal smoking habits, it shapes how artists craft their public personas and how those images circulate across social media.

Health organizations warn that the return of cigarette aesthetics carries real consequences. Studies cited by Truth Initiative show that exposure to tobacco content online doubles the likelihood that young people will start smoking.

The World Health Organization adds that the tobacco industry continues targeting youth and young women globally through advertising, influencer placements, and cultural association, spending billions every year to replace users lost to illness or quitting.