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!"

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."

Research looks at smoking addition among teens

Adolescents as young as 12 do smoke, and researchers have found that the sooner they do so upon waking in the morning, the more addicted they may be.

Branstetter — whose research focuses on youth tobacco use; tobacco cessation; and the influence of family, peers and social context in adolescent behavior teamed up with Joshua Muscat, professor of public health sciences at Penn State, to examine data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The team narrowed the survey participants down to 220 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 who were regular smokers. The researchers’ goal was to examine the relationship between time to first cigarette, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and blood levels of continine, a metabolite of nicotine.

The team found that the time to first cigarette was significantly correlated with several smoking behaviors, including the number of cigarettes smoked per day, the time since the last cigarette and having a family member who smokes at home, informs Centre Daily News.

“Most importantly, we found that a shorter time between waking and having the first cigarette of the day is a strong indicator of nicotine uptake, as defined by serum continine levels, in adolescents,” said Branstetter. “In other words, adolescents who smoke sooner after waking up in the morning tend to inhale more deeply and more thoroughly, which is why they have higher levels of continine in their blood. And these kids who take in more nicotine per cigarette may be more dependent on nicotine — regardless of the number of cigarettes they smoke per day.”

According to the researchers, compared with adults, adolescent smokers tend to be lighter smokers overall, are less likely to inhale when they smoke and are less likely to smoke when they are ill. Nevertheless, even adolescent smokers who smoke less than five cigarettes a day or who are nondaily smokers experience dependence and withdrawal symptoms at very high rates.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/11/25/3414224/research-looks-at-smoking-addition.html#storylink=cpy

Salt Lake City airport’s smoking areas don’t protect non-smokers

 As Shane Lenz, of Tooele, puffs a cigarette before flying to New Orleans for Thanksgiving, he explains why he likes the special smoking rooms at Salt Lake City International Airport — especially since almost all other airports nationally totally ban smoking indoors.

"The findings in today’s report further confirm that ventilated smoking lounges and designated smoking areas are not effective," said Tim McAfee, director of CDC’s Office of Smoking and Health. "Prohibiting smoking in all indoor areas is the only effective way to fully eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke."

The CDC study found that at the five large hub airports in America that still allow some smoking — in Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Denver, Atlanta and Washington Dulles — air pollution levels caused by secondhand smoke are five times higher than in airports that ban smoking. Inside designated smoking areas, the pollution levels average 23 times higher.

The CDC noted that while Utah law bans smoking in indoor workplaces and public areas, the law specifically exempts Salt Lake City International Airport. It even bans smoking at smaller airport terminals in the state.

Malaysia gov't faces tobacco wrath over ban delay

A tobacco giant that exhausted its inventory of small cigarette packets in anticipation of a ban threatened Thursday to take legal action against the Malaysian government for reportedly deciding to delay the prohibition.

The Malaysian affiliate of Philip Morris International voiced disappointment with what it called a "precipitous" decision that would be "a devastating blow not only to our business but to foreign investor confidence in Malaysia."

Tobacco companies in the Southeast Asian country have been phasing out parts of their inventory and manufacturing equipment in recent months ahead of a government ban on cigarette packets containing fewer than 20 cigarettes that was supposed to take effect June 1.

However, the financial newspaper The Edge reported Thursday that the government had decided to postpone the ban. The Malaysian Insider news website later quoted Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai as saying that authorities feared the ban would spark a surge in demand for illegally produced cigarettes.

Health Ministry officials said they could not immediately comment on the reports, and that Liow was traveling late Thursday and could not be contacted.

"In the absence of clarity surrounding this decision, (we) will have no choice but to evaluate all possible avenues, including legal recourse, to recover any losses the company may suffer," Richard Morgan, the managing director of Philip Morris in Malaysia, said in a statement.

"How can any corporation plan for its future and maintain its viability in an environment of such legal uncertainty, where decisions that are supposedly set in concrete can be overturned so rapidly and without any consultation?" the statement added.

The government had been planning the ban for years as part of efforts to curb smoking among young Malaysians who consider smaller cigarette packs more affordable.

The Malaysian Insider quoted Liow as saying the government would make a final decision in "a few months" on when the ban might be enforced.

Celebrities smoking cigarettes.

I have come across over a couple of things about celebrities smoking cigarettes that can be categorized neither as absurd nor as strange. They are not even funny, though. Fine, here we go.
1.There are celebrities, especially movie stars, that smokes on screen like they are addicted but aren’t in actual place.
2.Smoking celebrities, sometimes sports stars, endorse cigarettes very rarely, if ever; but they are declared smokers in their private lives with some needing to have a drag in between shots.
3.Celebrities raising their voices in support of smoking cessation movements of course draw big attention but are rarely taken seriously.
4.Celebrity smoking influences adolescents to follow suit. Youngsters want to replicate their demigods.
5.Celebrities of the bygone era have remote chances of having picked up the habit watching their heroes.

Well, these are just some of my gibberish talks that I guess might have crossed everyone’s minds. But is it true that celebrities really desist from endorsing cigarettes of all hues? Is it because they are conscious of their social responsibilities? Of course, I, for one, want to believe this line. Pictures of celebrities smoking appear glamorous and civilized, regardless of the context of the scene in a movie and thus it strikes a cord with teens. They are shown at parties with a cigarette which pushes young people to emulate them. The brands they smoke, cheap Marlboro cigarettes, Camel, Winston, Virginia Slims, Salem etc, become a point of campus discussion.

There are two prominent websites dedicated to smoking celebrities; rather one is a yahoo group. These are definitely not promoted by any of them but their fans who also are into smoking. These two sites list smoking stars from real life and on screen. The website I stumbled upon is on female celebrities who chain smoke on screen. You get a blow by blow account of ‘when and what’ they smoke and in which movie! Wow, so much to that!

How does it all relate to the rest of us? After all, we only get to see one face of them, enjoying a good smoke. Do we come to know of their efforts to keep fit or do we know that not many of them are smokers at all? Well, do you want to emulate them – then ponder these points, too.
1.Can you afford 40-60 Marlboro cigarettes a day if you don’t buy them from a tax free online store or a discount sale?
2.Cheap cigarettes at discount price may be an option but is it a license to smoke more?
3.Many celebrities only smoke socially; they just don’t like to be left out because they don’t smoke.
4.Celebrities can easily afford high cost healthcare, just in case.

Neither cheap discount cigarettes of reputed brands nor generics bought at cheap price tobacco shop can be castigated as being cheap quality. Most of these generics and branded cheap cigarettes are regulated in their respective countries of manufacture and because of price and tax difference between your and origination country that they become cheap. Cheap Marlboro cigarettes, however guaranteed they are, are not your insurance to smoke more. Neither menthol nor Lm falls into the category, for that matter. The bottom line is here: celebrity endorsement or not, cheap or not, cigarettes are always known to give smokers a momentary relief but a long time trouble.

Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council

As members of the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturer's Council (CTMC), Canada's three leading tobacco companies discuss and take action on issues of common interest relating to the industry. The CTMC in particular provides financing to three initiatives which are all managed by third parties.

The issue of smoking and youth, for example, is a great concern to us. In order to assist retailers in understanding and complying with the law, the three major companies support and fund a retail-initiated and retail-based program called Operation I.D. that aims to eliminate underage tobacco access.

Public smoking is another issue of interest. Financed by the CTMC and others, the Fair Air Association supports the hospitality industry in their efforts to respond to financially crippling and unilateral smoking bans. It informs them about existing alternatives such as new technological advances and research in the ventilation industry.

The Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council also supports an adult smokers’ association and a Web site designed to provide adult smokers with the tools to advocate on tobacco regulations or issues that affect them directly. The association and its Web site, called www.mychoice.ca is a platform which provides adult smokers with the information and tools to participate in the public policy discussion on tobacco control.

Law mandates new cigarettes

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Firefighters said a new measure could save the lives of smokers and people around them.

A new law signed by Gov. Sarah Palin today means that only fire-safe cigarettes can be sold in Alaska starting next year.

The Anchorage Fire Department is very happy about the development. Officials said it means house fires may decrease by up to 35 percent.

According to AFD, an unattended cigarette starts a fire once a week.

AFD Chief Craig Goodrich said he supports the law.

"There is no such thing as a safe cigarette, but if you're going to smoke this is as safe as you can get. So, we're thrilled to death the law has been enacted," Goodrich said.

Palin's approval of Senate Bill 84 means this time next year stores can only sell fire-safe cigarettes. The cigarettes are designed so if you're not actively smoking them, they go out. The paper burns like a cigar.

"Usually what happens is people forget them. They think they put them out, they don't snub them out they just throw them into an old potted plant," Goodrich said.

AFD said cigarettes are the leading cause of home fires in the United States, with up to 900 people dying a year.

Mark Masley with the Tobacco Cache of Alaska said the new law comes with draw backs for smokers.

"Really, the objections people are raising to it is, is there sufficient product? Are they going to make enough of those cigarettes to deliver to the marketplace and if so at what cost? At what price? Obviously if you deliver a higher cost cigarette they're going to squawk about that," Masley said.

Masley did say there are perks to the cigarettes.

Fire-safe cigarettes are safer and since they don't keep burning, smokers might end up saving money instead of watching their cash go up in smoke.

"It's nice for the cigarette companies to sell more cigarettes. If you have one that burns to the filter, then they're going to sell more product," Masley said.

Alaska isn't the first state to have fire safe cigarettes; we're now one of 13 other states.

Officials said cigarettes are blamed in almost one out of every four fire deaths in Alaska during the past decade.