Rihanna lights up: Singer snaps another photo of herself smoking

It's becoming increasingly evident that Rihanna doesn't want to be anyone's role model, just as she's said.
The "Diamonds" singer shared a photo of herself smoking what appeared to be a hand-rolled cigarette, along with a tweet that read: "You a real n----, then phuck wit me!"

No more cigarettes means 10 more years for women

A massive new study about smoking from the University of Oxford in the U.K. has reported breathtaking results. Doctors and researchers found the nasty effects associated with cigarettes years ago, but this study focused on the harms of smoking as well as the benefits of quitting. Putting aside the knowledge society has about cigarettes already, the findings of this study could serve as yet another motivation for smokers to quit.

One of the largest studies ever done on the subject, Sir Richard Peto - a professor at the University of Oxford - and his colleagues recruited 1.3 million women between 1996 and 2001, all of whom were born around the 1940s and had been smoking regularly throughout their lives. The participants were all between the ages of 50 and 65, and they each filled out questionnaires about their lifestyles, medical status, and sociodemographic factors. The researchers did follow-ups and resurveyed the participants three and eight years later.

At the beginning of the study, 20 percent of the women were smokers, while 28 percent had stop smoking and 52 percent never smoked. 66,000 of the participants had passed away by 2011. The study showed that the smokers who continued three years into the study were three times more likely to pass away in comparison to non-smokers and women that had quit before middle age. According to the researchers, this means that two-thirds of the deaths of female smokers in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are related to smoking.

The researchers also noted that while the death risk in smokers is elevated by the amount smoked, light smokers (one to nine cigarettes per day) were still twice as likely to pass away as nonsmokers, reports Natural News.

Cigarette prices up four percent Jan. 7

Massalin Particulares, the firm that sells Marlboro, Philip Morris and Benson and Hedges among others in the country, will implement a four percent increase in its cigarette prices today, so as to meet with its revenue targets for 2013.

Smokers are failing to quit within first 24 hours

Almost one in five smokers who have tried to kick the habit failed within 24 hours and more than half lasted less than a week, according to a poll of 6,200 current or former smokers.

The average smoker tried to quit four times, and one in 10 unsuccessfully tried 10 times.

But despite the repeated failures, 45% of smokers think about giving up smoking every day.

Three in five (60%) plan to stub out their last cigarette in January, according to the survey on behalf of Pfizer's Don't Go Cold Turkey campaign.

The campaign aims to encourage smokers to talk to healthcare workers about how they plan to quit.

London-based GP Dr Sarah Jarvis said: "As a GP, my main aim is to get people to look at leading healthier lifestyles and one of the most important of these is stopping smoking, according to The Independent.

"I'm aware that the vast majority of people who do smoke are either desperate to quit or have tried and failed in the past.

"I want those who are motivated to quit to consider that there is support available and that even a brief conversation with their healthcare professional or local stop smoking service can increase their chances of success by up to four times, compared to going cold turkey."