Diane JamgochianSeptember 23,2013Magazine Journalism

Are Cigarettes Becoming Less Glamorous?

It’s the senior year carnival, and the famous group of friends known as the “T-Birds” are

saying their last good-byes. Suddenly, heads turn and whistles echo throughout the crowd as a

tall blonde in a skintight black bodysuit appears. As Olivia Newton-John saunters up to a bug-

eyed John Travolta, he realizes this girl with the red lipstick and leather jacket is Sandy, his now-

former classmate and love interest. Completely shedding the good-girl image she portrayed

throughout the film, she takes a slow drag from the cigarette she holds between her fingers.

After hesitantly crushing the joint under her red pumps, she begins the infamous final dance with

Travolta through the carnival funhouse.

Many will recognize this as the final scene from the 1978 musical Grease, in which

Olivia Newton-John, who plays Sandy, struggles to fit in with Travolta and his leather-clad

friends. Ultimately, she sheds her squeaky-clean image to become a glamorous bombshell in

order to win over her classmate. One of the most striking aspects of her new image is the

cigarette, which Newton-John holds so delicately and puffs with such ease that it portrays the

unhealthy habit as quite enticing. However, thirty-five years later, the glam-factor of cigarettes

seems to be outdated as society pushes smoking to be an addictive death-sentence.

Despite how they were once perceived, cigarettes are anything but glamorous. There is

no attraction to being diagnosed with lung, cervical, or kidney cancer, to name just a few of the

habit’s consequences. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “If nobody

smoked, one of every three cancer deaths in the United States would not happen.” However, this

far from breaking news. While we are constantly plagued by advertisements promoting

cigarettes or occasionally come across a photo of a celebrity smoking a joint, we are also

surrounded with information regarding tobacco prevention. As a result of the dying trend,

history.com notes that cigarette commercials were banned from television in 1970, with the last

one airing during the Johnny Carson Show on January 1, 1971.

Due to increased awareness, the visual of smoking is no longer as appealing as it once

was, even to current smokers. “I just wanted to try it because it was like a social thing. I don’t

think it’s really all that glamorous,” says eighteen-year-old Jennifer Milordo. “Nowadays people

think it’s a turn-off.” College senior Victoria Fisher initially viewed smoking as glamorous

before taking up the six-year habit. However, after recently quitting, her views have flipped.

“Now instead when I see attractive young people smoking, it makes me think they have less

appeal rather than more.”

Perhaps smoking appears sophisticated and chic to those who consider taking it up, but

the perception becomes skewed after the addictive feeling takes over. “They make me feel

loose, happy, and hungry,” Milordo states. Because smoking also speeds up one’s metabolism,

an individual may take up the habit solely for weight purposes. But in today’s society, the once-

glamorous appearance still continues to dwindle. In a recent survey including 2,000 smokers in

the UK, just 1% believed smoking looked trendy, while 67% noted that the public has

increasingly negative attitudes towards smoking in recent years.

While the glam factor of cigarettes was certainly a popular fad of the past, it is viewed as

anything but that in the present. The public is becoming increasingly aware of smoking’s

debilitating effects. Cigarettes are no longer considered stylish, as they are are mainly enjoyed

now for social interaction and enjoyment purposes. Even those who experienced smoking first-

hand admit that there is no glam-factor about puffing on a cigarette. Fisher can now recall how

cigarettes appear from a former-smoker’s perspective. “It is amazing the difference a few weeks

can make in an opinion that I had firmly set for six years.” Had the musical Grease been filmed

today, Olivia Newton-John might just remodel her look without the addition of the cigarette.

Works Cited:

 "Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 01 Aug. 2013. Web. 21 Sept. 2013.

<http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/

effects_cig_smoking/index.htm>.

"Nixon Signs Legislation Banning Cigarette Ads on TV and Radio." History.com. A&E

Television Networks, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. <http://www.history.com/this-day-in-

history/nixon-signs-legislation-banning-cigarette-ads-on-tv-and-radio>.

"Poll: Smoking 'no Longer Glamorous'" Daily Express UK RSS. N.p., 10 Mar. 2013. Web. 21

Sept. 2013. <http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/383114/Poll-Smoking-no-longer-

glamorous>