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VIDEO: DR. LUNG LOVE // Starring in PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT // Lung Cancer Alliance 

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Amy Winehouse misses her cue at Q awards  

Lily Allen also attended the awards, which are voted for by readers of Q magazine.

She defied the smoking ban by lighting up a cigarette during the ceremony, and went on stage clutching a pint of lager to accept the Best Track award for her single The Fear.

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• Lily Allen flouts French smoking ban in Paris as she performs in a plunging leotard 

Lily Allen showed her rebellious side last night as she flouted France's smoking ban on stage in Paris.

In between verses, Lily puffed away on a cigarette as she performed in a skimpy leotard at the City of Light's Le Zenith venue.

But the 24-year-old singer provided a distraction from her smoking with her slashed-to-the-navel leotard. . . .

Lily has publicly declared her love of smoking, so it's unlikely she'll be quitting any time soon.

She said: 'I love smoking… I don't really want to say it, but I do.' . . .

While Lily doesn't appear to be too worried about the health affects of smoking, she admitted she suffers from mild arthritis.

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Chas goes it alone as Dave mourns loss of his wife to lung cancer possibly caused by passive smoking says agent  

The band's agent, Barry Collings, said Dave, 64, had been very badly affected by the loss of his wife after 36 years of 'blissful marriage'.

'Understandably Dave has taken his loss very badly and he hasn't the heart to continue gigging and with regret he has decided to retire from the music business,' he said.

Mr Collings even speculated whether the cause of her death had anything to do with the fact she followed him to concerts in smoke-filled venues all around the country.

He said: 'I've never spoken to Dave about it, but in the early days she used to go to all the gigs so, over the years, I think there was an effect.'

Non-smoker Roy Castle famously developed cancer from playing the trumpet in smoky jazz clubs.

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• Fair play urged for smoking ban  

A LEADER of one of the teams that will enforce Shanghai's coming smoking control law wants to completely ban tobacco use inside KTV parlors, video arcades, pubs and other entertainment venues.

"The law should ensure fairness. There should be no difference in smoking control among different rooms inside a karaoke bar or elsewhere in the industry," Lan Yiming of the Shanghai Culture Market Administrative Law Enforcement Team said during a public hearing yesterday on the draft measure.

Without a blanket ban, he fears his agency and the others handling enforcement will have a difficult time persuading people to stop smoking in one area when they see people lighting up in another nearby.

Lan was among the 20-plus people brought together by Shanghai People's Congress to give their views on the issue. Law makers may amend the draft based on what they heard yesterday as they continue discussion of the proposal. Their goal is to enact the measure by the end of the year, well in advance of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, which starts on May 1.

Under the plan, smoking would be banned inside schools, hospitals and public places such as cinemas, museums, banks, malls, airports, railway and bus terminals and many privately owned businesses. Smoking would be allowed only in special areas in bars, restaurants and entertainment venues.

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Future karaoke bars could be a drag for city's smokers  

Who would've thought that the most populous city of a nation that contains one-third of the world's smokers would have people proposing public area smoking bans so sweeping it even makes us gag? Yet another advocate has come out of the woodwork to join the growing call for a comprehensive smoking ban in Shanghai's restaurants, pubs... and even individual rooms in karaoke bars.

Lan Yiming, Vice Director of Shanghai Culture Market Administrative Law Enforcement Team, which would be responsible for enforcing the ban, suggested that an absolute ban on smoking in public buildings would be better than providing separate smoking rooms in each building because it would prevent complaints of unfair treatment from customers. . . .

We've always been pretty vocally on the side of more smoking bans, but we have to admit Lan's suggestion caused even us to raise an eyebrow. Maybe we've been here too long to imagine forcing everyone in a private karaoke room to not smoke, and it seems a little silly to think that smokers would claim that they have the right to smoke in a designated non-smoking room if there are smoking rooms available.

Still, we suppose if France, whose national stereotype is inextricably linked to cigarettes, can implement anti-smoking regulations, it only seems right that Shanghai follow suit. Besides, regardless of whether the new legislation will make you sleep easier at night, it will certainly make you breathe a little easier during the day.

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• Call for complete smoking ban in karaoke bars 

SHANGHAI legislators should completely ban smoking inside karaoke bars, restaurants, pubs and other entertainment venues, suggests the head of the city's cultural industry watchdog.

There should be no smoking rooms allowed inside these venues because a partial ban would make it difficult to enforce properly, said Lan Yiming, vice director of Shanghai Culture Market Administrative Law Enforcement Team, today.

He called on lawmakers to incorporate his suggestions into Shanghai's first anti-smoking laws due to take effect in January.

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Letters: Good reasons for cutting out cigarettes 

• Tobacco warning from 17th Century 

Doctors in the 17th Century were worried about the dangers of young people smoking, a recently unearthed letter has revealed.

The letter, written in 1606 by Dr Eleazar Duncon, said tobacco was "hurtful" to the nation's youth.

It was found by library staff at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE).

The Scottish Parliament will this week debate new proposals to curb tobacco and cigarette sales to youngsters.

Dr Duncon's letter reveals medical professionals were similarly concerned about the issue four centuries ago.

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[Tobacco] is so hurtful and dangerous to youth that it might have the pernicious nature expressed in the name, and that it were as well known by the name of Youths-bane as by the name of tobacco.
Recently-found letter by Dr Eleazar Duncon which was published in Scotland in 1606.

• Carter Albrecht's family suing Pfizer over stop-smoking drug  

A federal lawsuit has been filed in Dallas on behalf of local musician Carter Albrecht against Pfizer, the maker of the stop-smoking drug Chantix.

Albrecht was shot and killed September 3, 2007 while banging on his neighbor's door. Albrecht had been drinking.

Albrecht's girlfriend, Ryann Rathbone, said he had become increasingly erratic after he started taking Chantix to quit smoking. She said vivid, often frightening dreams were an immediate side effect.

After using the prescription medication for a week, Rathbone said Albrecht began hallucinating, lashing out at her physically and verbally.

A News 8 investigation revealed thousands of similar reports of potentially dangerous psychiatric side effects. Pfizer later added a black box label, warning of serious neuropsychiatric side effects.

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• Blu Cigs President Won't Confirm Product in Sex Tape 

In response to a surge of inquiries, blu Cigs president Jason Healy said he will not confirm the speculation by Gawker.com that the mystery cigarette in the Eric Dane/Rebecca Gayheart sex tape which emitted a blue ember but didn't burn was in fact, the company's signature electronic cigarette.

"Our client records are confidential. We respect the privacy of all our clients, not only high profile ones."

Blu Cigs are known for the distinctive blue light that glows when the cigarette is drawn on. They have become popular with smokers in the film, television and music industries as they can be used in indoor no (tobacco) smoking environments such as sound stages and recording studios as there is no ash and the vapor emitted won't bother non-smokers and will not harm sensitive equipment.

Healy adds, "With current and stricter new restrictions coming on the use of traditional cigarettes, blu Cigs provide smokers with a better alternative cigarette experience without the bothersome secondhand smoke."

In response to whether an electronic cigarette such as blu is safe for use in a bathtub, Healy said, "While we would not recommend use in an environment like that, there's no problem if it were dropped in the water. It would have to be dried out sufficiently before using again."

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LETTER: Refuse tobacco money 

I had a great time at Dfest; I'm thankful for any event that brings business to Tulsa. However, I was disappointed a tobacco company was allowed to distribute free cigarettes, coupons, and other tobacco products. I went through the tobacco trailer myself; it was obvious they were marketing to their next generation of replacement tobacco users before the FDA stops the distribution of samples. Although you were required to be 18, plenty of samples were distributed to share with friends after leaving the trailer -- all of this at an event sponsored by State Farm, a company that provides health insurance.

Edward B. Rust, Jr., the State Farm CEO, says on the company's Web site, "Not only do we do what is legal, but we also do what is right." OK, Mr. Rust, I know advertisement of a deadly product to a young crowd is still legal, but is it right?

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• Industry gimmick to entice youth to smoking  

Questions have been raised whether the Tobacco industry has resorted to distributing free cigarettes in order to promote the habit of smoking among youth.

The Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco & Alcohol (NATA) Prof. Carlo Fonseka in a letter to Daily News refers to an incident which took place in front of a restaurant in Colombo as an example, which was personally witnessed by NATA officials, and describes it as a fragrant violations of the NATA Act.

According to Prof. Fonseka around 8.00 pm on July 28, NATA officials after being alerted had visited and witnessed the free distribution of cigarettes by a group of about 10, including young women in front of a restaurant in Fife road, Colombo 5.

The activity had been carried out to the accompaniment of loud music calculated to draw maximum attention. . . .

Thus Prof. Fonseka points out that this incident was a clear violation of the Act No.27 of 2006 and that relevant officials should take prompt action to bring the violators to book and take steps to prevent a recurrence of such incidents in the future.

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Group brings anti-smoking message to Vans Warped Tour  

Without the signature in-your-face tactics of its TV commercials, the anti-smoking Truth campaign teamed up with the Vans Warped Tour at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater on Wednesday.

Instead, campaign members used games such as Truth Says, a variation on Simon Says, to try to educate teens on the dangers of smoking.

It worked. Of the many booths nearby, the Truth truck attracted the largest number of people, and at some points, garnered more attention than some of the bands.

According to the American Legacy Foundation, 22 percent of Virginia youths between ages 12 and 17 smoke cigarettes.

"We don't try to shove our message down people's throats," said Kimberly Broderick, 25, a crew member from Los Angeles.

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McKenna claims win in tobacco advertising case 

Washington's Division One Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a cartoon image included in the Nov. 2007 ad campaign by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Rolling Stone magazine was in violation of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

In doing so, the court overturned a June 2008 verdict in favor of the company, which ruled that the content didn't depict traditional cartoons and that the images were more thought-provoking than humorous. Tuesday's decision awarded the State attorneys fees and costs and remanded the case for damages.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna called the ruling a reminder of how committed the states are to enforcing the public health provisions of the MSA and prohibiting the illegal marketing of tobacco products.

"This lawsuit demonstrates, even 10 years later, states have not forgotten legacy of the Master Settlement Agreement," said the Republican AG, who recently served three years as co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Tobacco Committee.

"This is the kind of advertising that brought about the Master Settlement Agreement in the first place and this is one of the on-going legal commitments tobacco companies made to the states. We are holding them accountable."

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