Back in December 2019, the blog called attention to the noticeable resurgence in cigarette smoking as portrayed in streaming dramas or theatrical content in a post headlined “Is Hollywood Trying to Make Smoking Great Again?”

Fast forward to June 2023.

In an article titled “Cool, sexy and stinking of smoke: why are TV dramas giving cigarettes a comeback?,” the Guardian wrote, in part, the following:

For a while, you would very rarely see cigs on screen unless it was specific to the era. Until recently, that is…[T]he return of cigarettes has been creeping up on us…Of the streaming services, Netflix appears to be the most frequent offender. Despite pledges to cut down tobacco use on screen after criticism of how often it depicted cigarette use (Stranger Things being the worst offender), smoking definitely hasn’t been stubbed out. Both The Queen’s Gambit and The Umbrella Academy, which were streamed by millions in 2020, included tobacco use on every single episode. Meanwhile, among 39 of this year’s Academy Award nominations, 28 films featured tobacco in some form on screen. Which is wild considering that teenagers exposed to smoking in movies are two to three times more likely to start smoking themselves. The dangers are widely documented – it’s just that creators seem to have stopped caring.

Smoking is still one of the warning labels that Netflix slaps on content.

The left-wing U.K. publication began the article by noting that the character played by Lily-Rose Depp in the much-hyped HBO series The Idol is a chain smoker.

Further from the Guardian:

In the US, where The Idol was filmed and released, federal law prohibits tobacco advertising through television, and restricts magazine and billboard advertising. That said, the law doesn’t prohibit more insidious influencing, whereby smoking might appear desirable or chic..i.t is interesting to observe that pop culture appears to be moving steadily backwards as far as smoking on screen is concerned, even though we are collectively more aware of how harmful the habit is – and how influential even the image of smoking can be.

A separate Guardian report mentioned that Depp and other younger celebrities are smoking in public more.

In general, celebs of all ages are known for bad habits and worse decision-making.

That piece also explained that “Though Hollywood has long imposed penalties for onscreen smoking, driving up the MPAA rating with each puff, it does not deter film-makers. Seven of the 10 best picture nominees for 2023 contained tobacco imagery, as did nearly two-thirds of all Oscar-nominated films.”

According to the Guardian, cigarette smoking in real life supposedly increased during the COVID pandemic, which seems counter-intuitive. That is, it seems odd that a population concerned about health risks thought it was a good idea to ingest more tobacco with all the negative consequences attendant to that.

Again, as the above-referenced 2019 post wondered perhaps conspiratorially, is it possible that Big Tobacco is stealthily pouring money into pop culture as a form of product placement?

Despite its social justice posturing, Hollywood, in its generic sense, is the epicenter of hypocrisy, so would that kind of potential cash grab surprise you?