Look no further than the Cigfluencers Instagram page, an account dedicated to photos of people smoking, which launched in 2021 and, as of this writing, has over 102,000 followers. The page features celebrities and seductive-looking people of all kinds smoking. Consider the description of the photo that illustrates this post:

In a world shrouded in mystery, a young woman stands alone, exhaling a plume of smoke that dances in the dim light. Her striking braided hair, streaked with vibrant colors, reveals a rebellious spirit, while the sleek black jacket she wears adds an air of cool confidence. As she contemplates the night, the smoke swirls around her, encapsulating fleeting thoughts and whispered dreams.

A description like that sums up the role of a cigfluencer: Look at me and be like me.

There are many theories as to why, after decades of improving public health, smoking may be gaining popularity again. Here are just a few theories: pushback against performative wellness culture, nostalgia for the 1990s, fashionable celebrities, resurgence in media portrayal, and plain old rebellion. “There’s an appeal to the slummy look of indifference in a cigarette,” says Sarah Milov, a social historian and author of The Cigarette: A Political History. 

Another reason? After 20-odd years in the pop-culture desert, cigarette companies have dialed in their marketing with even more precision. This is made easier and more potent thanks to the surveillance capitalism component of internet search and social media. 

Hang on. I’m getting all worked up and need a light.

I’m joking, sort of. As a former smoker, this is exactly what I’d have said and done at one time when debating with a friend. Which is why this next theory speaks to me.

All of these contributing factors probably play a role in the rise of Gen Z smoking, but one theory rises to the top. From the Financial Times:

Smoking’s sudden ubiquity might also reflect a sadder truth, continues [Dr Allan M Brandt, a historian of public health at Harvard University]. “People, especially young people, are lonely.” There is a special camaraderie in sharing a cigarette outside a club, pub or fashion week party, he says. “People need connection, even if that is on their way out of a bar.”

It is no secret that people of all ages struggle with feelings of social isolation and depression. The epidemic of loneliness tracks with the growth of social media and smartphone use. Our increasingly online lives have us speaking roughly 300 words less each year as we go about our daily lives with fewer and fewer in-person interactions. Scientists measured a 28% drop in daily speech as recorded at random intervals over the 2005-2019 study period.

As Rogé Karma recently observed in the newsletter Work in Progress:

Perhaps the most visceral indicator of our modern loneliness crisis is the way that loud, bustling spaces are becoming eerily silent. If you’ve noticed the absence of chatter in coffee shops and subway cars, you’re observing a bigger social trend. 

Then, the pandemic reduced our habitual in-person interactions further. Fewer in-person interactions began before the COVID pandemic but worsened and remained flattened afterward. A reduction of in-person interactions of all kinds, from casual interactions to time spent with friends, reduces our capacity for empathy and connection, says a study. 

So why might people, especially younger people, pick up smoking now? Could it be because of the stress initially caused by a sense of “missing out” on in-person high school and college experiences during the pandemic? Could feelings of loneliness persist today, with cigarettes or vaping as one way to connect with others?

Gen Z may be flirting with smoking, but it is a slippery slope to dependency and addiction. Whether one calls themself a “social smoker” or a “weekend smoker,” how easy it is to get hooked when a cigarette becomes a habit associated with a certain time, place, or activity. 

Again, we observe that smoking reflects the need for stress displacement. In this example, the stress is associated with feelings of social isolation. Attaining connection with others is a likely factor, at some level, that is driving a new generation to claim the identity of “smoker.” 

Let’s hope the cigfluencer trend does not continue.

Written by Katie McCaskey. First published September 16, 2026.

Sources:

“Smoking is back in fashion. Why?” Financial Times, August 10, 2026.

“Social media use, social anxiety, and loneliness: A systematic review,” Computers in Human Behavior Reports, January-July, 2021.

“Sliding Into Silence? We Are Speaking 300 Daily Words Fewer Every Year,” Association for Psychological Science, March 20, 2026.

“Work in Progress,” The Atlantic, September 7, 2026.

“Another Symptom of Growing Isolation,” The Atlantic, July 27, 2026.

“The effects of text, audio, video, and in-person communication on bonding between friends,” Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 2013. 

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