CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – For many adults, living in an anti-cigarette smoking culture is an established norm. Once a billion-dollar industry, the public health fallout of smoking led to heavy regulation and discouragement of using tobacco. But a shift in this culture may be changing Gen Z’s attitude towards smoking.
Dr. Melissa Little, the director of the Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Research at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, cited “multiple converging forces” during a UVA Health webinar titled “Why Does Gen Z Think Smoking is Cool?” from new forms of digital endorsement to a sense of pessimism permeating Gen Z’s outlook on their future.
The briefing intended to address a growing renormalization of smoking cigarettes among young people, which is a potential threat to the record low rates at which Gen Z is actually consuming the product…