In an article published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), the deputy general director of the journal warns of the danger of a return of smoking in pop culture in the United Kingdom, under the guise of nostalgia for the 90s[1].
Trivialization of smoking and drop in funding for anti-tobacco campaigns
Associated with the imagination of the 90s, tobacco consumption tends to be renormalized and glamorized by the world of culture. Thus, the pop singer Charli XCX, at the origin of the trend “ brat summer », and who has more than 30 million listeners per month on the streaming platform Spotify alone, summed up his aesthetic as “a pack of cigarettes, a BIC lighter and a white top without a bra”. In fact, such a statement associates smoking with a spirit of rebellion and female emancipation. In the same way, models from designers Christian Cowan and LaQuan Smith paraded on the catwalk smoking cigarettes during Fashion Week in New York at the beginning of 2024. This trivialization of smoking is also developing through the influencers and social networks, for example an Instagram account exclusively dedicated to broadcasting celebrities smoking, and followed by tens of thousands of people. Given the prescriptive potential of the culture and entertainment industry, such a return may prove particularly dangerous, particularly for younger generations. This return of glorifying representations of smoking is linked to the considerable decline in public funding granted to anti-smoking media campaigns. Indeed, between 2008/2009 and 2020/2021, this funding decreased by 95%, going from 27.6 to 1.56 million euros.
Exposure to representations of tobacco, a health risk for younger generations
In fact, the 1990s were characterized by an increase in smoking prevalence among young people: in England, 12% of adolescents aged 11 to 15 declared themselves to be daily smokers. This increase can partly be explained by the advertising strategies of manufacturers, also increasing sports sponsorship practices or promotional offers on tobacco products, or working on the representation of smoking in the media, to make the cigarette a symbol. of youth, fashion and emancipation. Since then, the United Kingdom has put in place an arsenal of avant-garde measures to reduce tobacco consumption, including particularly dissuasive tax policies, various smoking bans, and the introduction of plain packaging. , or the ban on displays of tobacco products (display ban). These public health policies have borne fruit, particularly among young people, since only 3% of 11-15 year olds are now smokers. However, the progress made in the fight against smoking is never definitive, due to the strategy of renormalization of tobacco and nicotine consumption, undertaken by manufacturers for several years. The article thus underlines the need to redouble vigilance with regard to the return of smoking in cultural productions. The scientific literature demonstrates that the representation of tobacco in the media is a determining element in adolescents’ attitudes towards smoking and consumption behavior. The audiences enabled by social networks pose a serious threat to the public health of younger generations, because the degree of influence of the representation is associated with the dose. In other words, the more an adolescent is exposed to a smoking image, the higher the risk that he or she will start smoking.
©Tobacco Free Generation
-FT
[1] Cerny C. Smoking’s pop culture revival is an unwelcome throwback for public health BMJ 2025; 388 :q2883 doi:10.1136/bmj.q2883
National Committee Against Smoking |
