My local Tinder Box said that they have been having young people come in asking how to start pipe smoking. Something that they said didn’t really happen before. So there’s that.
One thing I noticed was that when I was in college, about 10 years ago, most people at parties smoked. The guys, the girls, it didn’t matter. The popular, good looking girls almost all smoked cigarettes. Even at Coachella 2015, where all sorts of young model girls, and wannabe models, flock to, it seemed like those girls were all smoking cigarettes. I was, and the girls I was with were too. It could have something to do with the heavy cocaine use there, but still, there was heavy cigarette smoking because it was trendy and “cool.” People would smoke in the crowds, wherever. And no one was bugged by the smoke.
Now, I no longer go to music festivals, but I would imagine it’s still quite common. But one thing I’ve noticed is that vaping really took over. Whereas the young “cool” kids all smoked cigarettes just a few years ago, many of them now vape, probably because the new generation coming up sees their peers vaping rather than smoking cigarettes.
The distinction I would make is that Millennials smoked cigarettes, and now Gen Z vapes (but much of Gen Z doesn’t even vape, probably due to heavy anti-smoking campaigns in the public schools). It could also have to do with tax increases on tobacco. Cigarette smoking was rebellious for my generation, and I used to get packs of Marlboro Reds for $4.50 here in SoCal, but now it’s just too cost prohibitive for many young kids; plus the raising of the smoking age to 21 nationwide.
