Gen Z’s Dangerous New Romance — With Cigarettes
Teens and young adults may call them “cancer sticks,” but that hasn’t stopped them from seeing smoke as a mark of sophistication.
The concept of having a cig.
Photographer: Daniel Perron/Hans Lucas via AFP
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I have a list in my Notes app called “cigarettes are everywhere.” To anyone else it probably looks like pop culture gibberish — “8:51 am, NYU student smoking on her way to school … Gabby Windey cig mommy … Heather Gay Bowen Yang IG story” — but for me it is proof that I haven’t been hallucinating: there has definitely been an uptick in people — mainly celebrities — ripping cigs in my orbit.