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The #Toxic Smoking Aesthetic 2026: How Public Health Can Counter Big Tobacco’s Playbook for the Digital Age

November 11, 2026

The #Toxic Smoking Aesthetic 2026: How Public Health Can Counter Big Tobacco’s Playbook for the Digital AgeNew research from ACS CAN finds Big Tobacco’s marketing playbook is going viral on social media. The #Toxic Smoking Aesthetic 2026 report draws on an analysis of hundreds of cigarette-related posts on TikTok and Instagram and identifies five recurring themes – nostalgia, glamour, community, humor, and girlhood – revealing how social media is helping normalize smoking and threatening decades of progress in tobacco prevention. Read the full report to explore the key findings, what’s behind the trend, and what ACS CAN recommends policymakers do about it.

Executive Summary

This executive summary highlights a new #toxic smoking aesthetic that is taking shape on social media that appeals young women and girls.  For young women and girls scrolling TikTok and Instagram, smoking is being presented without context on health risks, contributing to the renormalization and glamorization of tobacco use. 

Policy Recommendations 

ACS CAN’s policy recommendations outlined in the report call for federal and state actions to rebuild and strengthen federal and state tobacco control infrastructure to protect young people from nicotine addiction and tobacco-related diseases including cancer. 

 

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