It hits at a certain time in the afternoon, when a familiar craving strikes. You walk to the kitchen. The satisfying sound of a can cracking, the hiss of bubbles. It’s time for a “fridge cigarette”—or as you might know it, a can of Diet Coke.
Earlier this week, TikTok user @reallyrachelreno posted: “Overheard someone call Diet Coke a ‘fridge cigarette’ and nothing’s been more true to me since.” The video, which has since been viewed 3.5 million times, shows her cracking open a cold one in the sun. The caption: “Time for a crispy ciggy in the summer.” (ICYMI: The term “crispy” is used to describe a Diet Coke chilled to perfection—bonus points if served with pebbled ice and a lemon wedge.)
For many, the comparison is spot-on. “Wow, that’s so real. It just takes the edge off,” one person commented. “I gauge how hard my day is to determine if I get a little fridge cigarette,” another added.
In a follow-up video, @reallyrachelreno cleared up a few things based on the comments. According to her analysis: Diet Coke equals Parliaments, regular Coke equals Marlboro Reds, and Coke Zero equals American Spirits. Any other diet soda equals menthol (disparaging). Full-fat Coke in a glass bottle? That’s a cigar.
In recent years, Diet Coke has made a noticeable comeback. Gen Z’s version of the smoke break is the “Diet Coke break.” On TikTok, Diet Coke “recipes” go viral. “Gen Z is obsessed with Diet Coke,” Snaxshot writer Andrea Hernández noted in a recent newsletter. “What is now being dubbed as ‘fridge cigarettes’ has earned a cultural cachet without Coca-Cola having to do anything . . . but focus on delivering on taste and product.”
According to Hernández, Coca-Cola has held onto its position as the number one soda in the U.S. by tapping into nostalgia. After all, what captures the sweet nostalgia of summer better than a crisp can of Diet Coke in the sun?
Alongside the rise of the “fridge cigarette,” actual cigarettes have also crept back into pop culture, as The New York Times reported. In her hit single “Headphones On,” Addison Rae sings: “Guess I gotta accept the pain / Need a cigarette to make me feel better.” In “What Was That,” Lorde recalls: “I remember saying then, ‘This is the best cigarette of my life’ / Well, I want you just like that.”
It’s a sign of the times. Clean Girl is out. Cigarettes are cool again. And in a world full of prebiotic soda and protein water, sometimes all you really want is a crispy “fridge cigarette” to take the edge off.
