A millennial has reignited conversation about cigarettes, vaping, and the unique place millennials hold in the history of smoking culture in a viral video on TikTok.
Eve Tilley-Coulson, a 36-year-old from Los Angeles, shared how her generation grew up watching smoking go from being commonplace to socially unacceptable—and how that has shaped what she called her generation’s “special relationship” with cigarettes.
“I rarely see anyone smoke cigarettes anymore,” Tilley-Coulson told Newsweek. “Just as millennials were the generation that saw the change from no internet to internet, we were also the generation that saw and lived through establishments moving from smoking to non-smoking.”
In the video, which has been viewed over 477,000 times, she recalled just how different the culture around smoking was when she was younger.
“When I was a child, every place was full of smoke,” she said in her video. “And it was only like when I was like 10, maybe, that there were smoking and non-smoking sections. There was a big thing, and suddenly it was like, don’t smoke. It’s bad. It’s going to cause cancer. But both my grandparents smoked. I knew plenty of people that smoked, and it was very much on the cusp of people judging it. And now nobody smokes. But they all do Juuls and vapes.”
Unlike Gen Z, who have grown up in an era of flavored vape pens and sleek e-cigarettes, millennials weren’t introduced to nicotine through disposable, USB-charging devices. Instead, they were the last generation to be told in school that cigarettes were deadly, while still seeing them glamorized in movies and TV. The anti-smoking message was clear, but the cultural contradictions made it confusing.
“We weren’t raised on Juuls, just the D.A.R.E. program, so we see cigarettes as bad, but we watched everyone older than us smoke,” Tilley-Coulson said.
That might explain why many millennials, despite avoiding full-fledged smoking habits, still associate cigarettes with certain social moments. Tilley-Coulson pointed out that while most millennials never fully embraced vaping, they often indulged in a cigarette on nights out, caught between two worlds:
“So, when we got drunk or after a party or a night out, we might dabble and have a cigarette. But for the most part, we haven’t gotten fully on the Juul train. Because I think all of us just think at one point we’re gonna find out that Juuls are just as bad as cigarettes,” she said in the video.
While vaping isn’t considered completely safe, it’s still considered to be safer than smoking traditional cigarettes. Cigarette smoke contains over 7,000 chemicals—many of which are highly toxic and carcinogenic. In contrast, e-cigarette vapor contains far fewer harmful substances, such as tar and carbon monoxide, which are major contributors to smoking-related diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Smoking rates in the United States have drastically fallen in the last 59 years. In 1965, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded just over 50 million adult smokers in the U.S., while in 2021, that number had almost halved with 28.3 million current cigarette smokers in the U.S.
According to the CDC, those who smoke are two to four times more likely to develop coronary heart disease and suffer a stroke, and around 25 times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers.
It is estimated that around 81 percent of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. can be attributed to cigarette smoking, as well as 72 percent of larynx cancer deaths. Cigarette smokers are also much more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with around 16 percent of current smokers in the U.S. living with COPD in 2021, compared to just three percent of those who had never smoked.
As the theory caught viral attention, TikTok users shared their reactions in the comments section, including memories of smoky bars and shifting social norms around cigarettes.
“I’m 36, both of my parents were heavy smokers. I’ve always thought smoking was vile. I find it just so weird when I find out someone my age smokes cigs,” Rebecca Brotherton M wrote.
While Sweet Cassie Molassie recalled: “When I first turned 21, you could still smoke in the bars and your hair and clothes would stink even being smoke-free! Ugh, now I could never handle my hair smelling smoky.”
Other users talked about how different vaping is in comparison. “Vapes and all that is so embarrassing to millennials!! I remember making fun of them,” one wrote.
Tilley-Coulson believes the reason her video struck such a chord is because so many millennials remember it firsthand.
“I think a lot of my content on millennial culture does well because it’s relatable to so many people my age,” she said. “We all remember these experiences, and they shaped who we are.”
While smoking has become a scarce part of public life, millennials clearly remember the moment things shifted. And for some, old habits die hard—with one TikTok user admitting: “Still have my emergency Marb light pack hidden in my house for the apocalypse.”
The post Woman Shares Theory on Millennials’ ‘Special Relationship’ With Cigarettes appeared first on Newsweek.
