Our Love Affair With Cigarettes

    In a world of wellness trends, green juice cleanses, and oat milk everything, why are we still so seduced by something as toxic as cigarettes?

From smoky jazz clubs in the 1920s to brooding film noir heroes lighting up in the rain, cigarettes have always carried a certain... aesthetic. They’ve been glamorised, demonised, banned, resurrected, and rebranded more times than we can count. And yet, the world still can’t seem to quit them.

Once the ultimate accessory, cigarettes were never just a habit. They were a statement. Think: Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Kate Moss on a '90s runway, or a young Leonardo DiCaprio in literally any movie. They weren’t just bad for you, they were dangerously cool.

Fast forward to now, and the cigarette is back- less in lungs, more on feeds. Enter @ciginfluencers: the Instagram page that curates moody, glamorous shots of celebs like Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, and Anya Taylor‑Joy holding cigarettes like vintage props. It doesn’t preach smoking. It sells nostalgia. Rebellion. A curated kind of chaos. And it’s working; 57.2% of young people say smoking seems fashionable because of influencers, artists, and celebrities.

But maybe our obsession isn’t really about cigarettes at all. Maybe it’s about what they represent- the moment they carve out. A cigarette is an excuse. To step outside. To leave the noise. To hover at the edge of a party. To share a lighter with a stranger. I’ve seen people try and fail to quit, over and over again. I’ve lit up in moments of heartbreak, celebration, and mind-numbing boredom. Not for the nicotine, for the ritual. The pause.

So maybe it’s not about smoking. Maybe it’s about chasing a feeling. That tiny flash of rebellion in an increasingly curated world.

A moment that feels just a little more cinematic than the one before it.

A cigarette, for better or worse, is still a tiny torch of anti-wellness in a sea of green juice.

Love, Aria

XO