Tobacco imagery in TV shows and music videos is on the rise, and Australian nicotine consumption has surged by 40% between 2017 and 2025, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The illegal tobacco trade now accounts for 80% of all tobacco consumed in Australia, up from 12% a decade ago. Public health experts are worried as smoking is being glamorised in pop culture once again.
Pop Culture Embraces Smoking Again
Kylie Jenner appeared smoking on the cover of Vanity Fair, while Madonna and Hailey Bieber posed with cigarettes in Interview magazine. Fashion brands Khaite and Dôen have handed out branded packs at parties. In the latest series of Euphoria, Zendaya's character Rue works in a smoke shop and is shown smoking. A Reddit fan even asked what brand she favoured.
Truth Initiative's report Lights, Camera, Tobacco? found that tobacco depictions in the 15 most popular streaming shows among 15-to-24-year-olds rose by 110% between 2021 and 2022. More than half (53%) of young people's most-watched shows featured tobacco imagery. Three of the top eight were animations, including The Simpsons.
In music videos, the trend is similar. In 2021, almost 13% of top Billboard music videos depicted smoking. By 2022, that had more than doubled to 28%.
Expert Concerns and Health Impact
Rachael Andersen, Quit director at Cancer Council Victoria, says: “We are concerned about people of any age taking up smoking. Young people are particularly influenced by their peer group. Gratuitous depictions of smoking in film and music, on streaming services, down fashion runways, across social media and amongst the celebrity elite all contribute to the false notion that smoking is ‘cool’. Big tobacco has been using cultural cachet to promote its lethal products for decades. When used as intended, smoking still kills two in three lifetime users.”
Australia has one of the lowest daily smoking rates globally, falling from 24% in 1991 to 15% in 2010, and continuing to decline to 2019. However, the ABS reported in June that nicotine consumption rose by 40% between 2017 and 2025. Parts of England are also seeing smoking rates rise for the first time since 2006.
Voices from the Public
Levi, a 22-year-old personal trainer and sport science student, is an occasional smoker. “I definitely see a lot more people smoking than I used to,” he says. He started smoking after a breakup, then tried vaping to quit, but became addicted to vaping. He has now returned to smoking to quit vaping. “I think a lot of people picked up smoking cigarettes as a way to weirdly try to stop vaping,” he adds.
Melbourne florist Briony Wright, who worked in fashion media in the 1990s, recalls smoking being “intrinsic to any interesting friend group”. She now sees friends lighting up again: “Heaps of my friends smoke! They also go to the gym.”
Illegal Tobacco Boom
Australia has high taxes on cigarettes, with over-the-counter packs costing between $37 and $42. However, illegal tobacco—mainly imported from Asia and the Middle East—sells for around $25 a pack, sometimes as low as $10 to $15. The illegal trade has risen from 12% of consumption a decade ago to 80% in 2025. Levi says friends drive to various places to get cheap cigarettes or vapes.
Wright believes the availability of cheap cigarettes has led many to switch back from vaping. “I honestly think that the people who transitioned to vaping, or who maybe started out vaping, are all smoking cigarettes again because these cheap, off-brand tailor-made cigarettes are more widely available, making them easier to justify,” she says.
Nostalgia and Nihilism
Joanna Nilson, co-founder of fashion podcast Haute and Bothered, notes that during Covid lockdowns, younger people idealised “indie sleaze” from the early 2000s, which included smoking. She also links smoking to recent emphasis on thinness, as smoking acts as an appetite suppressant.
Hannah McElhinney, co-founder of youth-focused agency Snack Drawer, observes a feeling of disconnection. “People like Charli xcx glamorise club culture, smoking, drinking and staying out late which can feel really refreshing since we’ve been in this era of isolation and rigid wellness routines. Smoking has always been about rebellion, and so when people want to rebel against their own health, cigarettes are naturally going to have their moment,” she says.
Big Tobacco's Role
Despite restrictions, tobacco companies have found ways to promote products. The University of Bath's Tobacco Control Research Group found that tobacco companies aligned smoking with youth culture and employed third-party advocates like influencers. In June, Australian fashion retailer Billy Bones Club had a complaint upheld by Ad Standards over a YouTube ad depicting young people smoking, framing cigarettes as part of a “rebellious youth lifestyle”.
Andersen emphasises the health toll: “Smoking is highly addictive and causes 16 types of cancer. Sadly, 24,000 Australians die from smoking-related illness every year – that’s 66 families losing a loved one each day.”
McElhinney suggests public health campaigns should educate about how “tobacco companies manipulate us through insidiously inserting themselves into culture”. She adds, “As big tobacco continues to innovate and shapeshift, it’s hard for consumers and public health advocates to keep up.”
