Cigarettes: A Party Favor for the End of the World
On the second day of TNG Blogmas, a look at why so many hosts gave guests the gift of a nicotine rush this holiday season.
Welcome to TNG Blogmas! In the spirit of the holiday week, I’ll be publishing a short blog every day unpacking a topic that’s at top of mind as we head into 2025.
The holiday party season is winding down, and if my Instagram feed was any indication, many hosts got the same memo this year: No gathering was complete without a bacchanalian, photogenic spread spilling over with charcuterie, cheeses, fruits, dips, and desserts, lit by tapered candles, bookended with bottles of wine and… bowls of cigarettes?
Fashion people in America have been obsessed with “bowls of cigarettes” as an event concept since at least 2015, when Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy famously left them out for guests at their intimate wedding reception in Manhattan. Few pieces of stateside party lore have gone as viral over the past decade — that is, until Rosalía arrived at Charli xcx’s birthday in Los Angeles this August carrying a cigarette bouquet, composed of Parliaments interspersed with black calla lilies. A very fitting close to brat summer!
Unsurprisingly, this had a delightful trickle-down effect: My friend Layla was gifted an ingenious matcha vape bouquet at her own party in September; another friend, Marisa, received an arrangement of red roses mixed with packs of Capris at her Upper East Side Christmas celebration this month. Unfortunately, by the time I thought to take a photo of the latter, most of the cigs were already gone.
This holiday season, even brand-sponsored events offered loosies to guests, along with customized matchbooks or lighters to take home as a memento from the evening. One of the only parties I had FOMO about this year was the Alexa Chung x Madewell launch dinner at the Waverly Inn in September, which had all of the trappings of a classic New York night on the town: martinis, models, a champagne tower, a Paul Sevigny DJ set, and, of course, plates of Camel Blues to smoke out in the garden. I saw some mutuals posting from a holiday dinner hosted by Australian fashion brand Meshki at Hotel Chelsea a couple of months later which offered the same; on the opposite coast, friends snapped photos of the cigs and lighters on display at the release party for Lili Anolik’s book, “Didion & Babitz,” at the Chateau Marmont.
News outlets have published “smoking is back” trend stories at a steady cadence for a couple of years now; the New York Times ran theirs in January of 2022, while Air Mail’s short investigation was posted earlier this month. When I was editor-in-chief of Fashionista in 2018, I commissioned a story about the noticeable influx of cigarette merch on secondhand sites like Grailed, in street style photos, and on clouted celebrities like John Mayer. Reasons for the resurgence vary widely: stress, irony, nihilism, mistrust of vapes, rebellion against wellness culture, nostalgia for Americana, a desire to be seen and to be sexy, a bonding activity to do with other people, an appetite suppressant, and a supplement to the uppers everyone seems to be on, to name just a handful.
It wasn’t long ago that Bella Hadid and co. were (very obviously) editing cigarettes out of their Instagram photos and smoking was tragically banned from the Met Gala bathroom; now, we see Addison Rae, Lily-Rose Depp, Dua Lipa, and other Gen Z-beloved personalities publicly blasting cigs without a care. Smoking has always been cool, but it certainly is not brand safe. So how did we get back to a place where they’re being passed out at parties, even corporate ones, like candy?
I checked in with Jared Oviatt, who runs the popular Cigfluencers Instagram account, to see why he thinks this year saw such an uptick in unabashed smoking. In his professional opinion, it’s been bubbling under the surface since the summer of 2023, thanks in large part to Season 2 of “The Bear” and HBO’s critically panned (yet iconic) series, “The Idol.”
“Season 2 of ‘The Bear’ turned Jeremy Allen White into a household name — someone who is now very much at the forefront of culture,” he tells me. (The prize at a recent Jeremy Allen White look-alike competition in New York was two packs of cigarettes.) “Pair that with him dating an international sensation [Rosalía] who also happens to smoke cigs, and you have the perfect storm for a cigarette revival. A new cigfluencer ‘It’ couple is born.” Several paparazzi photos of the duo smoking went viral in late 2023; he adds that an increase in culturally relevant young celebrities photographed smoking, including Paul Mescal, Gracie Abrams, and Ayo Edebiri, has changed the way that people perceive the habit.
“To say ‘The Idol’ is influential in any way is probably a bit of a stretch, but the show preceded a massive year for pop girls,” he continues. “Lily-Rose Depp as a naughty pop star who blasts cigs? Featuring Rachel Sennott and Troye Sivan? It’s almost too good to be true.” The pop girl element ties nicely into the brat summer of it all — particularly the fact that people crave some sort of monoculture and want to be a part of something.
“Did Addison Rae all of a sudden decide one day to pick up cigarettes? I highly doubt it. But would picking up cigarettes and associating herself with Charli xcx and brat summer be the ultimate way to gain validation from pop fans? Absolutely,” Jared says. “That’s why, to me at least, you see brands serving platters of cigarettes at their holiday parties. It’s their way of saying, ‘We know what brat summer is, and we want to get involved.’”
Heading into 2025, anxiety is high as the world seems to be falling apart around us. Social smoking can be a balm in times like these, and the increase in people who occasionally sneak away for a cigarette — whether they call themselves a “smoker” or not — will likely continue apace. (This is also pretty clear in the post-brat summer inundation of “party girl” content all over the internet.) As for event hosts providing the goods, it’s mutually beneficial: Partygoers will be grateful for the additional buzz, and if you don’t buy a pack yourself, it doesn’t count, right?
Look, I know smoking is horrible for you. As someone who’s survived cancer once (and would like to avoid going through chemotherapy again), I’m the last person who should be touting cigs as the ultimate party favor. But anyone who’s fun at parties knows that the best hosts anticipate their guests’ every desire — and the best guests never arrive empty handed. So, if you happen to catch me on a night out and want to bond over a nicotine buzz, chances are I have a pack in my bag, ready and happy to share.
Alcohol is the current villain du jour, while smoking seems to be acceptable and cool.
I had a joint on each dinner plate at my baby shower, theme was Alice in wonderland. Had hookahs around the pool tables as well with chocolate shrooms next to them.