I Mean, Why Shouldn't We All Smoke Cigarettes Again?
The author reflects on a growing personal desire to return to smoking cigarettes, prompted by the chaos and absurdity of current events, despite knowing its health risks. She reminisces about the social rituals and intimacy of smoking in the 1990s and early 2000s, contrasting it with today’s disconnected digital culture. Her contemplation ultimately becomes a meditation on lost youth, personal ambition, and the ways people cope with an increasingly unstable world.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
.layout > .ad-splash, .one-column-layout > .ad-splash { display: none; } first person I Mean, Why Shouldn’t We All Smoke Cigarettes Again? We quit our bad habits for the sake of our future selves. How naïve of us. By Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author. Her books include 'Olga Dies Dreaming,' 'Anita de Monte Laughs Last,' and most recently, 'Last Night In Brooklyn.' Apr. 29, 2026 Photo: Getty saved Save this article to read it later. Find this story in your account’s ‘Saved for Later’ section. Comment Photo: Getty Photo: Getty Lately, I’ve been thinking about smoking. All the time. It started sometime after we kidnapped the president of Venezuela but before we watched Alex Pretti get shot and killed by Customs and Border Protection agents.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Cut.
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