What TikTok’s ‘fridge cigarette’ trend is all about

Care for a "fridge cigarette"? According to TikTok, a fridge cigarette is the perfect summer treat: a crisp Diet Coke, chilled to perfection.

The trend took off when creator Rachel Reno (@reallyrachelreno) posted a video of herself in a park in New York, snacking on a sandwich, chips, and a Diet Coke. She wrote, "overheard someone call Diet Coke a ‘fridge cigarette’ and nothing’s been more true to me since." She also referred to the drink as a "crispy ciggy."

True Diet Coke fans understood the comparison. Reno got over 3.8 million views on the video. One user wrote in the comments, "A 'fridge cigarette' is the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life and it's so true." Another wrote, "Accurate, Diet Coke has been my vice of choice for decades."

Diet Coke has captured Gen-Z's attention over the years. Back in 2023, TikTokkers were grabbing viral "Diet Coke breaks", as Substack writer Casey Lewis wrote. Instead of "cigarette breaks", young people are turning to the soft drink as a way to take the edge off and recharge.

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The trend also fits into the wider facets of TikTok youth culture. Young people on the app regularly romanticize their lives, making daily moments and mundane routines into aesthetic pieces of content. The term "fridge cigarette" is another rendition of making a daily ritual sound a little more enticing.

Plus, the Gen-Z version of a "smoke break" being a Diet Coke also speaks to plummeting rates of smoking among young people. A fridge cigarette isn't the worst replacement.