Vaping is changing the music scene

From Keith Richards to Lemmy of the Motorheads and countless rock stars in between, smoking has been considered inherently cool. Movie stars and rock legends have been portrayed as lovable misfits and rebels as they dangled a cigarette between their lips and scowled at the camera.

The music world has always had this edgy image, and cigarettes have always gone hand in hand with that image.

In recent years, things have started to change, with artists and bands leaving cigarettes behind and embracing the vaping future. Whether it’s the bans on smoking in public places, or the overwhelming scientific evidence of the dangers of smoking changing public opinion, it’s safe to say that cigarettes have lost their cool, and vaping has become the new, more modern trend.

Vaping is changing pop culture

In 2014, Lily Allen was criticized for featuring an e-cigarette in the video for her song 'Hard Out There.' However, 'Hard Out There' has now been viewed over 40 million times, showing that Allen's audience doesn't even care that the artist is showing the world that she vapes.

Other musicians have also spoken out in support of vaping, including Tom Petty and Dave Navarro. Both artists have switched to e-cigarettes, and both have praised vaping as a tool to help them quit smoking, saying they have seen real health benefits after using e-cigarettes.

Foo Fighters are the latest band to incorporate vaping into their music with their newly released song “Run.” Dave Grohl personally directed the video for the song, and in it, he plays an elderly man in a nursing home who causes a riot among the residents, taking over a car and taking a puff from his vape pen and blowing out a huge cloud of vapor.

It's too early to tell how vaping will affect artists in the long term, but if Foo Fighter's latest track is anything to go by, perhaps vaping will inspire a more aggressive, upbeat genre of music with a strong social message.

Vaping has been recognized as having less health risks than regular cigarettes. The statistics on illness and death caused by cigarettes are too clear to ignore, so the alternative method that is 95% safe has become a bright spot. Vaping has the advantage of using essential oils instead of toxic chemicals, making it safer than cigarettes, but still retains its edge and prominence. Celebrities who were once criticized for often appearing with vapes are now becoming the ones promoting vaping as more people follow their lead and quit smoking regular cigarettes for the safer product.