R&B superstar Rihanna seems to have developed a knack for courting controversy and her latest racy cover art for her single has run into trouble for glamorising smoking.

The 21-year-old singer posed naked for the cover of ‘Rude Boy’, wearing nothing but a top hat and boots with a lit cigarette in her mouth, reported Sun online.

The ‘Umbrella’ hitmaker provoked a strong reaction by posing with a cigarette, having previously said that she sees herself as a role model for young girls.

The image has become a hot topic of discussion in Internet forums.

“Just plain stupid move. Cigarettes cause so many people to die from lung cancer, and yet she poses with one, trying to look rebellious to 16 year olds,” wrote a member of the forum ‘Celeblove’.

No stranger to controversy, Rihanna had faced accusations of glamorising violence for getting a tattoo of a gun last year.
The singer who had suffered assault at the hands of her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown last year made the controversial decision to have a handgun tattooed on her body.

The singer, who has often been seen wearing a miniature gun pendant necklace, had the weapon etched across her ribcage.

London: British singer George Michael has revealed that he sees nothing wrong with smoking crack cocaine.
Michael, 46, who was arrested on London’s Hampstead Heath last year after the police found drugs in his possession, found it amusing that people saw him as tragic, reports The Daily Star.

When The Guardian asked him if he was using the drug at that time, he replied, “Was I? On that occasion, yeah.

“I’ve done many different things that I shouldn’t have done, once or twice. Of course. Nobody wants to regularly smoke crack,” he said.

But he can’t see the harm in his habits, taking a swipe at his pal, Sir Elton John, for trying to help him conquer his demons.

“People want to see me as tragic with all the cottaging and drug-taking. I don’t see them as weaknesses any more. It’s just who I am,” he said.

“Elton [John] will not be happy until I bang on his door in the middle of the night saying, ‘Please, please, help me, Elton. Take me to rehab.’ It’s not going to happen,” he added.

The Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA) urged decision-makers to seek alternatives to combustible tobacco that reduce Americans’ exposure to the multitude of harmful chemicals and toxins found in cigarettes. His remarks came in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study released last week showing that smoking rates among U.S. adults have risen for the first time since 1994.

“We applaud the valiant campaigns designed to encourage people to quit smoking and urge that federal, state, and local governments continue to warn people about this unhealthy and deadly habit,” said ECA President Matt Salmon. “However, we also believe, given the CDC data, that harm-reduction strategies are desperately needed to reduce smokers’ exposure to the thousands of harmful chemicals and toxins that are delivered through combustible cigarettes.”

Salmon said that electronic cigarettes, battery-operated products that deliver an inhalable nicotine vapor, offer a viable and much-needed alternative to combustible tobacco. More than one million Americans have tried electronic cigarettes since they became available in the United States in 2007. Many use electronic cigarettes to avoid the toxins of combustible cigarettes and to protect nonsmokers from inhaling secondhand smoke, which is known to cause cancer, heart disease, and other health problems.

“According to the report, 46 million Americans smoke, costing the nation $96 billion in annual health care costs,” said Salmon. “More than 400,000 people die every year as a result of their exposure to the toxins found in cigarettes. If we are unable to reduce the number of people who quit, surely we should look for alternatives that will at least lower the number of people who die each year from this harmful habit.”

Source
Electronic Cigarette Association

DENVER,- E-CigaretteDirect.com announces an unprecedented endorsement of their website and the electronic cigarette
products they carry by the organization of Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco.

“We are thrilled that the medical community, especially such
prestigious doctors, would take a proactive, logical approach to this
industry. Our hope is that this logic and knowledge is spread throughout, from
people to governments,” exclaimed Gina King of www.E-CigaretteDirect.com.
“These renowned doctors have done their research, poured over the
documentation and concluded that the electronic cigarette is a wonderful harm
reduction alternative for those who cannot quit smoking.”

Dr. Claude Curran, a Harvard trained physician, wrote “we’d be delighted to
endorse your e-cigarettes as an important harm-reduction alternative to
tobacco products in the treatment of nicotine addiction.” He also wrote that
“the public has to be trained to think of smoking in terms of nicotine
addiction and this will take some time.”

What makes tobacco cigarettes so deadly is the smoke. Electronic cigarettes
have no smoke and no burning. The addictive properties of nicotine is what
keeps smokers smoking. The electronic cigarette allows smokers to still get
their nicotine, but without the harmful carcinogens and chemicals that are
inhaled with a normal cigarette. “The electronic cigarette also allows the
user to determine how much nicotine they inhale. We have cartridges that have
high to no nicotine levels, allowing users to naturally wean themselves off of
nicotine,” says Ms. King.

UnHolySmoke.org, Physicians and Nurses Against Tobacco has an informative
website that is dedicated to understanding tobacco and addiction.

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE — They are sold right next to the candy and gum at stores across Staten Island — products like strawberry-flavored mini-cigars packaged like lip gloss.

And they will soon be illegal.

Calling it a move that will help save children from a dangerous addiction, the City Council voted yesterday to ban sales of almost all flavored tobacco products, including small cigars and chewing tobacco.

The bill, expected to be signed into law by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is the latest bit of bad news for the tobacco industry and smokers in the city, who already have been banned from all public buildings and restaurants and have seen taxes on cigarettes skyrocket.

Yesterday’s ban is intended to close a loophole in a law enacted in June by the federal Food and Drug Administration banning the manufacture, importation, marketing and distribution of cigarettes made to taste like candy, fruit and cloves. Since the legal definition of a cigarette is vague, manufacturers found a way to circumvent the ban by repackaging products to make them attractive to kids, like smaller “cigarillos” and SNUS, pouches of flavored tobacco used like snuff.

The American Lung Association estimates that 11,000 stores in the city carry such products.

“Anyone who tells you that these bubblegum, cookie dough, chocolate chip, little cigarillos shaped like a pink lip gloss — don’t tell me that’s not targeted at a young girl. These are not being bought by 50-year-old women, the data shows that,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan).

Members of the Island Council delegation voted yes to the ban, though not before expressing concern that this latest health-centered sanction may be too far-reaching, and speculation that it may not withstand a legal challenge by the tobacco industry. Council Minority Leader James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn) said he was “troubled that a well-intentioned bill could have been more narrow.”

“I am faced with the choice of being big government, taking a legal product away from adults and their ability to make a decision, or allowing the tobacco industry to do what they have always done, which is find new customers. But when you have a difficult choice and have to err on one side, you have to err on the side of the kids,” Oddo said before his vote yesterday.

Vincent Ignizio (R-South Shore) said he was convinced when he visited a store in Great Kills that sells the products, and his 2-year-old daughter “couldn’t keep her hands off them.” Though the bill has flaws, he said he didn’t want “perfect to be the enemy of the good.”

“In the end, it was a tough choice between taking away a choice and protecting children,” Ignizio said.

The data to which Ms. Quinn referred are from surveys of city high school students that found while overall tobacco use declined 61 percent between 1999 and 2007, the use of smokeless tobacco increased by 69 percent. The percentage of student smokers who smoked only cigars and cigarillos has almost tripled since 2001, from five to 14 percent, the study found.

Flavors banned include “any fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, mint, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice. Menthol or clove flavors are excluded, as are non-tobacco smoking products such as those traditionally used in Middle Eastern hookahs. Penalties for violating the ban range from a $500 fine for the first offense, to a $2000 fine and suspension of tobacco license for multiple offenses within a year.

The FDA has been looking at whether to add more of those products to its ban.

Peter N. Spencer covers city government for the Advance. He may be reached at spencer@siadvance.com.

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq – The Victory Cigar Club was established on the Victory Base Complex in 2008.
The goal of the original founders was to provide a loosely structured forum for amateur cigar aficionados to congregate and enjoy a good smoke. The club is based on VBC but has other chapters throughout Iraq.

Since its conception, the club has grown in popularity and membership, boasting more than 300 members. Membership is open to everyone to include service members regardless of rank, DOD contractors and civilians alike. Club meetings provide a laid back atmosphere complete with live music, food, the all-favorite ‘Near Beer,’ and occasionally a celebrity guest appearance.

The Victory Cigar Club occasionally assists and co-sponsors USO tours and MWR events.

One main event was the NFL coaches’ tour held at Al Faw Palace in Baghdad, formally one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces.

Since the original founding of the club, many stateside contributors have made it possible for the Victory Cigar Club to sustain its growing popularity and membership. Almost all cigars are donated by various organizations or cigar manufacturers. Without the generous donations from Reyes family cigars in Miami, Fumar Cigars in Phoenix, Leaf and Bean from McMurray, Pa., and Uptown Cigar in Westerville, Ohio, the club could not continue to operate at the level at which it does.

The 639th Combat Sustainment Support Company of the Montana Army National Guard has more than 20 Soldiers who have joined the club and attend the bi-weekly meetings. The meetings provide a much needed break from the stresses of the day-to-day operations. Many of the 639th Soldiers had never enjoyed a premium cigar until they attended their first meeting.

As the word spreads and popularity grows, more 639th Soldiers continue to attend the bi-weekly cigar socials. Club meetings also provide a forum for officers and NCOs to get some valuable face time with counterparts from other units. All members enjoy the relaxed atmosphere while some mix business with pleasure, taking the opportunity to network with their peers.

The club elects officers to manage the donated supplies and to coordinate special events. Nominations are very informal and often humorous. Any member can hold a position in office. Newly elected officers are often “thrown under the bus” by other members during the nomination process. The members of the club may believe one particular person may be suited for a position or just want to have some fun at their buddy’s expense. In spite of the sometimes humorous nomination and “confirmation” process, club officers take their new responsibilities seriously.

Since some aspects of club meetings are not covered by donations, membership dues are collected from E-6 and above. The club holds raffles and sells coins, T-shirts and golf towels to fund club functions.

The Victory Cigar Club is a non-profit organization. However, the fact that there is money involved requires a treasurer to manage funds. The club quartermaster handles all inventory and donated items; other “Executive” Offices include the Club President, Vice President, Secretary and Assistant Quartermaster.

The Victory Cigar Club recently bid farewell to some of its outgoing members and officers.

Sgt. Joseph Buccini, Spc. Gregory Hill, Chief Warrant Officer 3 John Dill are among the Club Officers who have completed their tours and will be returning home. They are good friends and will be sorely missed by many members and guests alike.

The Victory Cigar Club needs more members and good officers to keep its everlasting flame burning and to allow the proud few to say “We Smoked’em in Iraq!”

Copyright © 2009 Dvidshub

In less than a week, clove cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco will be pulled from the shelves, substantiating the Food and Drug Administration’s first directive controlling the sale of tobacco products.

“It continues to be a shock every day for customers,” said Co-owner of Davis Newsbeat, Janis Lott.

On June 22, President Barack Obama signed into law, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, effectively giving the FDA wide ranging authority to regulate tobacco.

Flavored tobacco was the first targeted because critics say artificial additives like cherry, grape, chocolate, and spiced cigarettes such as cloves, appeal to youths and lays the groundwork for a smoking addiction. The law only applies to rolled cigarettes, and menthols were spared in this particular prohibition.

In other words, mint is out, but menthols are acceptable. According to Lott, Nat Sherman’s Hint of Mint packaging will soon read “menthol,” but it’s contents will be unaffected.

As for cloves, Lott said, “there is a contingent of people who buy these cigarettes,” adding that flavored tobacco constitutes about 15 percent of the cigarettes sold at Newsbeat.

Kretek International Inc., which imports Djarum-brand cloves from Indonesia, holds a 97 percent U.S. market share with its line of Djarum clove cigarettes, a staple of Indonesian smoking culture.

The U.S. market for clove cigarettes is about $140 million annually, with about 1.25 million clove smokers.

Cloves have been imported to the U.S. since the 1960s and are mostly smoked by people younger than 30.

With America as Kretek International’s fifth largest importer, the company has found a loop hole in the FDAs ban. Kretek is now manufacturing cigars, close to the size of a cigarette and flavored with clove, vanilla and cherry.

The difference? Cigarettes are wrapped in thin paper, cigars in tobacco leaves. While the cigars also are made with a different kind of tobacco, the taste is similar. The cigars come 12 to a pack, rather than 20 for cigarettes, but cost nearly half as much.

But the Djarum-brand facelift may not appeal to all smokers. Andy Singh, owner of the Tobacco Store in Woodland, said a customer recently purchased ten packs of the clove cigarettes in anticipation of the prohibition.

Oddly enough, that same customer first told Singh that selling flavored cigarettes would become illegal on Sept. 22.

“I don’t smoke so the customers know better than I do,” Singh said. But delayed notification from either the FDA, or state and county agencies that manage tobacco licenses, according to Lott, means little time to inform customers and scale back on purchasing from vendors.

It wasn’t until Monday that the FDA issued a letter to members of the industry warning of prosecution to those selling what they labeled as “adulterated products,” beyond Sept. 22.

The letter reads, “manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may be subject to injunction actions, civil money penalties, and/or criminal prosecution for violating the requirements of the Act.”

Lott ordered several cartons of cloves requested by customers, but for the most part is pairing down purchases. Singh has stopped purchasing the cigarettes and said he will throw away what remains after the cutoff date.

Lott said the decision to ban flavored tobacco is politically driven and indicative of a “nanny state.”

“Eliminating tobacco products all together will never happen because it’s easy to vilify and it’s easy to tax,” she said. “I don’t know what’s right or wrong, I just have to go with the flow.”

Future directive under the FSPTCA include the revision and strengthening of cigarette warning labels that will also contain a list of ingredients, as well as the elimination of the terms light, low, and mild on tobacco products.

Dailydemocrat

MUMBAI: Golden Tobacco, a Sanjay Dalmia group company that manufactures the Panama and Chancellor cigarette brands, is learnt to be looking at
ways to monetise its 7.5-acre property in western Mumbai. It is estimated that the property, which is located in the upmarket Juhu Scheme, is worth at least Rs 200 crore.

Sources familiar with the development said the company was initially keen on inviting bids, but now it is exploring the possibility of signing an agreement with Godrej Properties, the real estate arm of the Godrej Group. Meanwhile, a source close to Godrej Properties confirmed the possibility of developing the property with Golden Tobacco. The property is located in the upmarket Juhu Scheme.

The option of jointly developing the property comes after an informal bidding process not having met with too much of success. “Since the bidding process did not attract high levels of interest, Golden Tobacco is now seriously considering the option of working jointly with a developer,” said the sources.

Golden Tobacco’s managing director JP Khetan and other senior company officials did not respond to emails or telephone calls. Godrej Properties declined to comment on the issue on the grounds that it is proposing a public issue and is in the midst of its silent period.

Meanwhile, a real estate consultant based in Mumbai said: “Godrej Properties could make an outright purchase of the property and not opt to jointly develop it with someone.” It is learnt that the project will have a mix of residential and commercial projects. Golden Tobacco, for a while, has been planning a joint development of commercial and residential properties where it would hold a substantial stake.

The company had recently signed a deal with Hyderabad-based Ashoka Group of developers for a 2.5-acre property near Hyderabad airport. Ritesh Shristava, VP, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj, the firm that was involved in the transaction, said: “The deal between the two parties was inked a couple of months ago and development on the property will commence soon.” In addition to this, Golden Tobacco owns land in other parts of Mumbai and Vadodara in Gujarat.

© Indiatimes

LINCOLN — The after-work regulars at Nickleby’s smoke shop soon could be returning to an old tradition.

If all goes as manager Tim Vanderpool hopes, customers will be able to start sipping scotch while smoking their cigars and discussing the world’s problems.

The Omaha shop is among a handful of businesses around Nebraska that plan to take advantage of a new state law.

The law, which takes effect Aug. 30, creates an exemption from the statewide public smoking ban for specially licensed cigar bars.
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But it might be a couple of months before the first match is lit in any cigar bar.

The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission will hold a hearing Thursday on rules and regulations to implement the new law. Hobert Rupe, the commission’s executive director, said he doesn’t expect to be ready to take applications before the end of September.

Under the new law, such bars cannot sell food or allow cigarette smoking.

They must have walk-in humidors — special rooms with temperature and humidity controls for storing and displaying cigars.

They also must get at least 10 percent of their gross revenue from selling tobacco products other than cigarettes and cannot boost tobacco revenue by offering drink specials with tobacco purchases.

The law will let Nickleby’s, once again, offer alcohol with its cigars.

Vanderpool said the business was a smoking lounge until last year. When the Omaha smoking ban was broadened, the business dropped its liquor license and stuck with tobacco sales.

Other businesses, such as Jake’s Cigars and Spirits in Omaha, chose to keep their liquor licenses and move smoking outdoors.

Jake’s owner John Larkin pushed hard to get the cigar bar exemption passed. He said his business took a big hit under the smoking ban.

“For us, it’s going to be awesome, but it’s definitely a niche thing,” he said of the new law.

Larkin plans to allow indoor smoking again at his Omaha location, at least for those smoking cigars or pipes. He is expanding his Lincoln smoke shop and opening a cigar bar there for the first time.

Nebraska’s smoking ban applies to all public buildings and workplaces. It exempts tobacco shops, some hotel rooms, laboratories used for research on smoking and home-based businesses.

The law faces a pending legal challenge. Big John’s Billiards, an Omaha pool hall, argued in Lancaster County District Court that exemptions to the smoking ban are arbitrary and amount to special legislation in violation of the state constitution.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com