At least in the United States, smoking is something fewer and fewer people take up these days. This obviously wasn't the case back in the 50's through the 80's, where cigarettes were commonly smoked out in public.
So whenever I see a period movie or show, filmed in the 2020's but taking place in the 60's, there's frequent scenes where characters are smoking cigarettes in a bar or stress-smoking to the filter after a stressful conversation. And I think to myself, "are these actors all smokers? In this day and age? Or is that an unlit prop ciggy with VFX smoke done in post?"
Are fake cigarettes common in film production now, or are these still typically the real deal?
In my experience it usually means "this is the bad guy" nowadays, rather than "this guy is cool"
Characters can be ‘the bad guy’ without smoking. Associating ‘being the bad guy’ with smoking is even worse, IMHO than a smoking hero.
Oh I agree people can be a bad guy without smoking