Smoking is getting a dangerous image makeover on social media, with public health researchers warning that cigarettes are once again being portrayed as glamorous, rebellious and fashionable, potentially undermining decades of progress in reducing smoking among young New Zealanders.
A new briefing from the Public Health Communication Centre (PHCC) is calling for the urgent return of youth-focused smokefree campaigns, warning that Aotearoa has gone almost two decades without major campaigns specifically designed to challenge the appeal of smoking among rangatahi.
University of Otago Professor Janet Hoek and co-author Dr Lori Leigh say smoking imagery is increasingly appearing across fashion, music videos and social media, where celebrities and influencers can make cigarettes appear sophisticated, desirable and socially acceptable.
The researchers warn that social media algorithms may be amplifying this content, exposing young audiences to imagery that risks reversing years of public health messaging.
Almost 20 Years Without Youth Smokefree Campaigns
Professor Hoek, co-director of the ASPIRE Aotearoa Research Centre, says earlier smokefree campaigns played a critical role in changing public attitudes towards cigarettes.
Those campaigns helped transform smoking from something once associated with glamour and independence into a behaviour increasingly recognised as harmful and socially undesirable.
However, today’s generation of rangatahi has had little direct exposure to those campaigns.
The researchers believe that absence has created an opportunity for smoking imagery to regain its cultural appeal, particularly through social media platforms where trends and celebrity behaviour can spread rapidly.
They are calling for renewed campaigns that make being smokefree aspirational while challenging the tobacco industry’s history of targeting young people.
Smoking Rates Among Young People Have Stalled
The warning comes alongside concerning findings from the New Zealand Health Survey.
According to the researchers, rates of daily and current smoking among 15- to 17-year-olds and 18- to 24-year-olds have not declined over the past three years.
While this does not necessarily indicate that youth smoking is increasing, it suggests progress in reducing smoking among these age groups has stalled.
Professor Hoek and Dr Leigh say health authorities need to monitor not only daily smoking but also experimentation and occasional smoking.
They argue that tracking whether young people have ever smoked, or smoke at least monthly, could provide early warning signs of changes that may eventually lead to higher daily smoking rates.
Influencers, Algorithms and Tobacco Industry Connections
The researchers are also calling for closer scrutiny of the way smoking is promoted or normalised online.
Their concerns include influencer marketing, undisclosed commercial relationships and algorithms that may repeatedly expose young people to smoking-related content.
They point to international smokefree campaigns that have challenged smoking imagery associated with celebrities and exposed connections between youth role models and tobacco companies.
The briefing argues that social media regulation should form part of a wider public health response, alongside renewed education and prevention campaigns.
What Does This Mean for Māori Rangatahi?
The findings raise important questions for Māori health providers, whānau and communities working to reduce tobacco-related harm.
For Māori rangatahi, the increasing visibility of smoking imagery online reinforces the importance of culturally relevant prevention campaigns that connect with young people through the platforms they use every day.
Kaupapa Māori approaches, whānau involvement and positive rangatahi role models could play an important role in ensuring smokefree messages remain relevant and effective.
The broader challenge is to prevent smoking from becoming normalised among a new generation while continuing efforts to reduce tobacco-related health inequalities.
Researchers Call for Urgent Action
Professor Hoek and Dr Leigh say Aotearoa cannot rely solely on the success of smokefree campaigns from previous decades.
They argue that the changing media environment requires new approaches capable of reaching young audiences and challenging the portrayal of smoking as fashionable or rebellious.
The researchers want renewed youth-focused campaigns, stronger monitoring of smoking behaviour and greater attention to the influence of social media.
Their warning is clear: after decades of work making smoking less socially acceptable, Aotearoa risks allowing cigarettes to regain their appeal among rangatahi unless public health messaging keeps pace with the digital world.
The briefing calls for renewed efforts to ensure being smokefree remains the desirable choice for the next generation.
#RadioWaatea #WaateaNews #SmokefreeAotearoa #YouthSmoking #Rangatahi #MaoriHealth #PublicHealth #JanetHoek #LoriLeigh #UniversityOfOtago #PHCC #ASPIREAotearoa #TobaccoControl #SmokingPrevention #SocialMedia #InfluencerMarketing #YouthHealth #WhanauWellbeing #HealthEquity #SmokefreeGeneration #TobaccoHarm #Aotearoa #NZHealth
