Tobacco News

Tamil superstar Rajnikanth may have immortalised a unique style in his movies where he flips a cigarette with his finger and then lights a match from the denim of the villain’s jeans! The smoking scene has been carried forward by director Vishal Bharadwaj in his 2006 movie ‘Omkara,’ with Bipasha Basu sizzling in the number Beedi jalaile jigar se piya, jigar maabadi aag hai…

These scenes in films make an impact despite a campaign spearheaded by former Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, which resulted in India becoming the first country to ban images of smoking in all television shows and new films, effective from August 1, 2006. The directive of the campaign is part of the Cigarettes and other Tobacco products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003. Dr. Ramadoss believes that smoking scenes in movies are responsible for encouraging youth to pick up the habit. He cited statistics to show that 52 per cent of youth consume their first cigarette when they see their favourite movie actor smoke.
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Jimi Hendrix never won a Grammy, Richard Burton got shut out at the Oscars and Denis Leary still doesn’t have a freakin’ Emmy.
If that doesn’t sound like a pop-culture felony, then you haven’t been watching “Rescue Me,” TV’s sharpest, angriest and most underrated drama, returning June 29 for the first of its final 19 episodes. (Ten will air this summer; the rest in 2011).
Leary, who co-created the series in which he stars as self-destructive firefighter Tommy Gavin, is touring with a couple of castmates and their fiery sense of humor, stand-up concerts that benefit the Leary Firefighters Foundation.
Leary spoke with us about “The Sopranos,” smoking and spirits last week, the day after filming the series’ finale.
Q: How weird is it that you’ve just finished the series, but the last episode won’t air until next summer? I’m not sure that’s ever been done before.
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You would think the leader of the world’s most powerful nation would possess the wherewithal to quit smoking, but it doesn’t necessarily work that way.

Exhibit A: Barack Obama.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, he promised wife Michelle that he would renounce tobacco for good.
But Obama had his first medical checkup as U.S. commander-in-chief in February, and the doctor’s report made it clear he was still struggling with the pernicious pleasures of nicotine. (He also had a slightly elevated cholesterol level, but was otherwise said to be in excellent health.)
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Hollywood actor Dennis Hopper has died at his home in California at the age of 74 after battling prostate cancer.
The star passed away at his house in the coastal Los Angeles suburb of Venice surrounded by family and friends.
In a career spanning more than 50 years, Hopper appeared alongside his mentor James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and Giant.
He was best known for starring in the 1969 cult classic Easy Rider, for which he received an Oscar for the movie’s original screenplay.
The film is regarded as one of the greatest films of American cinema.
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Beyonce is renown for putting out super HOT video clips, and ‘Why Don’t You Love Me’ is certainly no exception!
Beyonce plays a suffering house wife who sings “Why don’t you need me” through out the video whilst smoking cigarettes, drinking martinis and crying the mascara down her face. Read more

Leonardo DiCaprio puffs away at a cigar during a boys’ night out in West Hollywood on Saturday (May 8). Looks like no were girls allowed this time around! Read more

One day after singer Kelly Clarkson indicated that her April 29 concert in Jakarta, Indonesia would continue as scheduled with a controversial cigarette company sponsorship, the concert promoter announced that the sponsorship is being pulled amid protests from fans and anti-smoking advocates, the Associated Press reported April 22. Read more

The ‘Rehab’ singer – who recently reconciled with Blake after they divorced in August last year – has reportedly decided to mark their reunion with a romantic trip to Havana for when his court ordered curfew is over, to celebrate their new-found passion for cigar smoking. Read more

Kelly Clarkson has taken to her personal blog to respond to the controversy that has erupted following reports the Indonesian leg of her tour is being sponsored by a tobacco company, describing it as a “lose-lose situation”. Read more