I wonder if things have flipped back with the modern crop of teens and young adults, or perhaps my experience is an outlier.

My partner’s kids and their friends mostly seem to LOVE cologne and perfume. They use it heavily and daily. I’m somewhat more sensitive to it than most and strong fragrances like that will literally take my breath away as well as make it harder for me to breathe, so it’s a thing I notice. Similar experience when going places where the crowd is predominantly in the 16 - 24 age range, it can be a challenge for me.

The folks I know who are older than that range mostly seem to barely or rarely use cologne and perfume. I don’t typically even smell fragrances much anymore when I’m out and about (like shopping). At most, it’s usually scents that I associate with being from fabric softener on clothes, body washes, hair products, and deodorants.

I do think there’s a good chance that your correlation with reduced tobacco smoking might be a thing, but then I smell weed almost as frequently as I used to smell cigarettes when I’m out and about, and I don’t even live in a state where it’s legal. So, I’d almost expect to smell more cologne and perfume while out and about as folks are trying to cover up the smell of weed.