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“All the examples I’ve seen have been hugely tongue in cheek, with a healthy dose of self-parody,” says Alexia. “It’s close to the wind but I don’t think it’s glamourising drugs, more borrowing ‘cool’ from the sub-cultural movements that propagated the term. I’m much more worried by products that manipulate people into thinking they are lacking in some way, for example, using terms such as ‘Whitening’ or ‘Skinny’.
There’s no doubt that the beauty industry isn't wholly responsible for the appropriation of drug culture. Plus, drugs have featured in wider culture for years. When the filmwas released in 1992, it faced fierce criticism for glamorising heroin use.
Then, of course, there’s music. “Artists like Post Malone rapping affectionately about Codeine, and the plethora of artists, such as Big Shaq rapping about Cannabis use, are certainly glamorising drug culture,” says Joe. “As a society, we need to talk about all aspects of drug-use. For example, whilst Cannabis ‘chills’ some people out, it has also been linked with mental health issues, including anxiety, paranoia, and in some cases schizophrenia, amongst young people.
It’s for this reason that some people believe that honing in on the beauty industry as the perpetrator of drug culture promotion is facile at best, and damaging at worst. “Spending time and money regulating this distracts from the real issues driving the youth of today to take drugs,” argues Alexia. “This includes lack of education and jobs as well as a general feeling that they need to escape from the realities of the world.