Smoking is Sexy. But Why?

We have almost all looked at someone with a cigarette in their hand or mouth and thought, “Damn, they look cool.” Something about the smoke blowing out of their lips and permeating the air; we’re hooked to the image, suddenly finding the person attractive—even when we normally wouldn’t bat an eye at them. Cigarettes have long been associated with style and class. But why have they remained a staple in our modern-day pop culture? Why are we so attracted to someone puffing on a cancer stick, even after increasing evidence of smoking’s detriment to the human body? 

Image Courtesy: Paige Reifler on Instagram

It’s all a blend of advertising and psychology. Smoking has been linked to sexual themes since the 1880s, “when cigarette manufacturers put pictures of women in lingerie on cardstocks” that were then inserted into cigarette packs. Over time, as the public has grown less conservative and gradually accepting of the fact that “sex sells,” we’ve seen cigarettes blatantly become synonymous with eroticism, especially in Hollywood. From Old Hollywood sex symbols James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Marilyn Monroe, to modern-day icons such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, and Megan Fox—every single one of these people has at least smoked once during a role in a movie, a photoshoot, or even in paparazzi photos. What’s the public’s reaction? “Wow, they’re hot.”

Actors of Hollywood’s golden era were often seen smoking a cigarette as “a signal for wanting sex, a clue that a character had just had sex, or a straight-up substitute for a sex scene,” making it almost impossible to see someone smoking without an underlying connotation of the act, according to Jezebel. Smoking cigarettes also makes characters look tough and rebellious. Take the infamous Thomas Shelby from Netflix’s hit show Peaky Blinders, a story depicting a Birmingham-based gang of the 1920s. Portrayed by Cillian Murphy, Shelby is an independent leader, fighter, and family man. He’s also extremely attractive and smokes in *literally* every single scene he is in. Though Murphy and his co-stars smoke tobacco-free, plant-based cigarettes, the general public is not informed of so. 

To prove my point of how significant cigarettes are to popular culture, I can name numerous film scenes that have stuck in my mind simply from how cool someone looked while smoking a cigarette. Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson in Titanic, placing a cigarette between his lips and moving it around with his tongue as he slowly becomes your favorite manic pixie dream boy. Winona Ryder as a disheveled Veronica Sawyer in Heathers with a drooping cigarette in her mouth, watching her boyfriend cause an explosion outside of their high school. Heath Ledger as lovable bad boy Patrick Verona in 10 Things I Hate About You lighting up using a bunsen burner during chemistry class. And these are just a few that come to mind. 

This has been the character of Hollywood since its inception, portraying worlds to which an audience can escape to, remaining oblivious of any harsh realities that would be faced if these stories occurred in real life. Don’t get me wrong, I fall for the cigarette-in-mouth, leather-wearing, emotionally unavailable bad boy every time. Not to mention that any photo of a 20th century icon in pop culture (musicians, actors, writers, models, etc.) likely features them accompanied by a cigarette. But the constant portrayal of smoking in popular media without acknowledgment of its damaging effects is detrimental to impressionable audiences. 

In today’s world, where we are more than aware of the adverse effects of tobacco use, smoking signifies a defiant nature, a could-care-less attitude, and the classic bad boy image. Perhaps under all of the physical attraction to the person with the cigarette addiction, we are subconsciously thinking “I can fix them.” But can you?

Strike Out, 

Parmis Etezady

Boca Raton

Parmis Etezady is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. In her free time, she likes to collect records, go to rock concerts (or blast music in her bedroom), and obsess over vintage fashion. You can reach her at petezady@gmail.com.