Gen Z’s Cigarette Renaissance Is Almost Entirely Performative, Research Finds
After Sabrina Carpenter headlined Coachella with a prop cigarette and Kylie Jenner graced the cover of Vanity Fair smoking, new research from Ideally finds the so-called "cigarette renaissance" is a performance, not a behaviour.
37% of under-25s say people their age smoke today for "the aesthetic, it looks good in photos or on a night out," more than three times the 11% national average. 31% agreed smoking has become "a performance for social media more than a real habit.
The research, based on a nationally representative survey of 1,000 US adults, finds Gen Z is twice as likely to notice cigarettes in culture as the general population, but no more likely to actually smoke them.
The cultural signal is real
The visibility data tracks with everything brands have been watching. More than half of under-25s have noticed a music video or TV show featuring smoking in the past year, against 27% of the general population. 36% have seen a celebrity they follow photographed with a cigarette.
Pinterest searches for "smoking pose" are up 70% year-on-year among US 18–24s. The @Cigfluencers Instagram account has passed 100k followers. Truth Initiative recently found 70% of binge-watched shows now include tobacco imagery, up from 64% in 2022.
And just last month the Therapuss podcast, Kylie Jenner herself declared "smoking is so back."
The behaviour signal isn't
Only 7% of Americans say they've started smoking or smoked more in the last 12 months. Among under-25s, just 10% have even considered trying a cigarette. 88% haven't picked one up.
show featuring smoking in the
past year (US under 25's)
follow photographed with
a cigarette (US under 25's).
pose” are up 70% year-on-year among
US 18-24s.
The people actually smoking are millennials
Regular smoking peaks among 35–44 year olds, where 24% smoke regularly and 33% currently use cigarettes, well above the 17% and 21% national averages.
The cohort driving cultural visibility and the cohort driving cigarette sales are not the same people.
About the research
The report was fielded in May 2026 using Ideally's AI-powered insights platform. The survey reached a nationally representative sample of 1,000 US adults, with breakdowns by age, gender, household income, household structure, and US Census region.
