Adrien Brody smoked a specially created marijuana substitute for his role as a stoner in new movie “High School.” The Oscar-winner plays a pot-smoking dealer in the film, who unwittingly provides a high school with a high-strength drug. And director John Stalberg reveals the actor was able to smoke a special “fake weed” as his character gets high.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Stalberg tells WENN, “He was smoking this fake weed you can buy from High Times magazine called Fake Budz. It looks and burns like weed and it’s totally organic so if the actors don’t smoke cigarettes it’s not gonna hurt them. We even used it for props because it comes on a branch. Adrien said when he read the script he laughed so hard that he pulled a muscle in his neck!”

From sfgate.com, June 28, 2010

Actress MARIA BELLO has started smoking again, just months after kicking her longtime nicotine addiction. The health-conscious Coyote Ugly star, 43, thought she had managed to quit for good last November (09) after undergoing a series of hypnotherapy sessions. She said, “I quit for a year, started again for a month, and then… I went to a hypnotist – and now I’m not smoking. It’s my one horrible addiction. You can’t believe it’s working because you think, ‘This is ridiculous, it’s not going to work…’ And then it works.”

But Bello admits she has since slipped back into her old routine and now the bad habit is costing her big – because she agreed to pay her nine-year-old son Jack cash every time she is caught with a cigarette, or whenever she swears.

She says, “I started smoking a little bit again. I quit and now it’s like four or five (cigarettes) a day. And I owe Jack money for that – every time he sees a cigarette in my purse and everytime I curse. I owe him like, $300 (£200)!”

From contactmusic.com, June 23, 2010

LONDON (June 16) — At a 1945 lunch with the king of Saudi Arabia, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was told that he couldn’t spark up a stogie in the pious monarch’s presence. The wartime leader protested, saying his own “rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars … before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.” Sensibly, the Saudi ruler relented. Nowadays, though, some people aren’t so willing to indulge the ex-prime minister’s addiction. Like the unknown censor who airbrushed a cigar from an iconic photo of Churchill that adorns the entrance to London’s Britain at War Museum.

Taken at the opening of a new air base in 1948, the poster shows the wartime chief flashing his famous V for victory sign. But the Cuban roll that was originally clamped between Churchill’s lips has disappeared, leaving the prime minister with an unseemly open-mouthed gawp.
“Viewing the now disfigured image reveals just how unhinged the vociferous anti-smoking lobby has become,” David McAdam, the visitor who first noticed that the PM had posthumously kicked his taste for tobacco, told the Daily Mail. “So much for the notion that only communist tyrants airbrushed history.”

Museum manager John Welsh denied having anything to do with the edit. He said that he didn’t notice the missing cigar until McAdam approached his staff.

“We’ve got all sorts of images in the museum, some with cigars and some without,” Welsh told the paper. “We’ve even got wartime adverts for cigarettes in the lift down to the air raid shelter, so we wouldn’t have asked for there to be no cigar.” He refused to reveal who originally turned the photo into a poster for the museum, and presumably removed the cigar.

But Churchill isn’t the first famous smoker to have his nicotine fix retrospectively nixed. Here’s a pack of puffers whose acts of inhaling have also been consigned to the ashtray of history:

Paul McCartney
Peer closely at the original artwork of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” LP and you might just notice that a barefoot Macca is clutching a cigarette in his right hand. That tiny smoke was too much for U.S. print giant Allposters, who in 2003 demanded that the butt be digitally removed. Beatles publisher Apple Records later protested, telling the BBC, “We have never agreed to anything like this.”

Bette Davis
In 2008, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in honor of the sultry starlet, based on a still from 1950′s “All About Eve.” But the hand-painted portrait left out an important detail featured in the original image: a tobacco stick the actress had been elegantly holding in her hand.

And if there was anything Davis was known for in Hollywood — OK, apart from that — it was her incessant smoking. “I’ve been close to Bette Davis for 38 years,” quipped Henry Fonda at a 1979 roast of the actress, “and I have the cigarette burns to prove it.”

Jean-Paul Sartre
Once asked by a Newsweek journalist to list the important things in his life, the grumpy French philosopher replied, “I don’t know. Everything. Living. Smoking.” But a 2005 celebration of the existentialist’s life at Paris’ National Library couldn’t show the philosopher indulging in his favorite activity, in case it broke tough tobacco advertising laws.

As there are few photos of Sartre not smoking — he polished off two packs of cigarettes and two tobacco-stuffed pipes a day — the library was forced to edit out the philosopher’s Gauloise in a 1946 shot.

Clement Hurd
A portrait of the famed illustrator clutching a cigarette appeared in the back of the classic children’s book “Goodnight Moon” for some 20 years. But in 1995, Kate Jackson — then editor-in-chief of publisher HarperCollins — spotted the cancer causer and had it smudged out. “It is potentially a harmful message to very young kids,” Jackson told The New York Times, “and it doesn’t need to be there.”

That act of censorship outraged some long-standing “Goodnight” fans, who demanded the photo be restored to its smoky glory. Hurd’s son, though, said the illustrator — who died in 1988 — wouldn’t have been too bothered, as he’d kicked the habit in the 1950s and “really disliked smoking later in life.”

aolnews.com, June 17, 2010

“As Matariki rises, a new cycle of life begins. All has its place and time – the kūmara will be planted, and we await the arrival of the koekoeā and the pīpīwhārauroa. But there is an intruder in the house, one which has made itself at home in front of the fire, one which slowly but surely, has robbed us of many of our tīpuna. And if we let it stay, it will, as surely as Matariki will rise again, rob us of our rangatahi and mokupuna. At Te Roopu Me Mutu, we are standing at the door and saying – No More.”

Paula Snowden, Chief Executive of Te Roopu Me Mutu/Quitline, said: “Smoking has stolen much of our past, but we don’t have to allow it to rule our future. It takes determination and the strength of our wairua to rid ourselves of the grip it has upon us, but it can be done.

“Some assume smoking is part of Maori culture, but tobacco has no place in our whakapapa, our identity. It’s an imposter in our history that should have no part of our future.

“The three baskets of knowledge show us the way: the gift of the past is that we may learn from it to ensure a better present and a brighter future for ourselves, those we love, and those yet to come.”

As Matariki rises, Te Roopu Me Mutu issues this challenge to smokers:

“Come to us, and let us fight alongside you to rid ourselves of this intruder. Come to us once, come twice, come five times – no matter how many times, each attempt increases your chance of victory, of quitting smoking for good. Take up the challenge with us and let this Matariki be the time when you leave smoking in the past.”

Smokers quitting with Quitline are five times more likely to succeed than those quitting alone. Advisors support smokers to understand the three parts of the addiction – the nicotine, the habits and the emotions – which gives them the weapons to fight it successfully.

Quitline also offers subsidised nicotine patches, gum and lozenges at $3 for two month’s supply – so while it’s getting more expensive to smoke, it’s never been cheaper to quit.

June 14, 2010, voxy.co.nz

A TOTAL of 72 people were caught smoking in prohibited public areas yesterday, an offence under Chapter 14, Tobacco Order 2005. In the operation conducted by the Enforcement Unit of Tobacco Control Section, Ministry of Health at two shopping centres in Gadong, 62 of those caught, including six local women, were compounded $150 per person. The other 10, who were youths under the age of 18, will be enlisted into counselling programmes with the help of their parents and guardians.

The Brunei Times talked to a number of people to get comments and about the operation and arrests. A 23-year-old smoker who wished to be known as Henry was surprised at the number of people caught smoking in public places.

“Although I’m a smoker myself, I think what the authorities are doing is good as after hearing about these fines, I would think twice before lighting up a cigarette in a public place,” said Henry, who hails from Kg Mata-mata.

He also said that it (the operation) was good for non-smokers as they don’t need to breathe in second-hand smoke and it should also scare away the underage youths from smoking.

A graduate student from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) who opted for anonymity, shared the same sentiment. He also agreed that the authorities had done a good thing.

Meanwhile, a female non-smoker who will be graduating from Oxford Brookes University, in a phone interview said, “I agree it should be illegal to smoke in confined public spaces like in restaurants.”

A 39-year-old accountant from Kilanas, who used to be a smoker said, “It is a surprise to see underage youths being caught smoking nowadays,” adding that he thinks parents and schools need to play their role in educating the students on the harm of smoking.

Meanwhile, during an operation carried out last Thursday, a retail company has been charged a compound fine of $300 for failing to display the non-smoking sign in one of the stores.

In a press release, the Ministry of Health reminded the public again that if anyone is caught smoking in public areas such as shophouse sidewalks, shopping centres, markets, food stalls, bus stations, bus stops, restaurants and government buildings will have to pay a compound of $150 for the first offence, $300 for the second offence. For subsequent offences, the offender will be brought to court and fined up to $1,000 if convicted.

In addition, failure to display the no-smoking signs in shops selling tobacco is an offence under Chapter 11, Tobacco Order 2005. Any shopowner that fails to do so will be fined up to $10,000 if convicted.

The ministry will continue to carry out such operations and take action according to the laws set and fine anyone caught for the offence under the Order and its rules.

news.asiaone.com, The Brunei Times, June 14, 2010

Recently the chairman of a retailers’ group wrote in the Herald about his concerns over proposed restrictions around the sale of tobacco products. Health groups are saying the commercial self-interest of those backed by the tobacco industry needs to be set aside if we are to make gains against a disease that annually is responsible for 10 times the number of the deaths that occur on our roads. Following on from the rise in tobacco tax, other moves are being formulated to further reduce the impact of smoking-related diseases. Many different organisations have just finished making submissions to the Maori Affairs health select committee.

The committee’s focus is gathering evidence on the effect of tobacco on Maori communities and to consider the vision of a tobacco-free New Zealand in the future.

The Ministry of Health has also called for submissions on one particular strategy – the issue of removing tobacco displays in retail outlets. Several organisations are working to protect children from a tobacco addiction that, on average, starts below 15 years of age.

Removing these displays is part of a range of measures that will achieve this goal. Opposition from retailer organisations and tobacco companies is designed to protect turnover and profits.

So what do smokers actually think? Most smokers support putting tobacco under the counter, because they do not want their children to smoke.

Smokers themselves won’t be particularly affected by this move. They will still be able to buy tobacco at their local store or any of the usual outlets around town.

Just as they do now, customers will be able to ask for their preferred brand which will be kept in a drawer under the counter or perhaps on a covered shelf.

Many supermarkets have been selling cigarettes this way for years. What the tobacco industry is really worried about is how things will change over time. These displays are ubiquitous and they exist because they work as a de facto marketing tool.

In the near future our children will not see colourful and eye-catching displays of cigarettes sitting on the shelves next to the lollies every time they visit the dairy.

Smokers who are trying to quit will find the job a little easier when they aren’t confronted by shelves full of cigarettes each time they pay for their petrol or go to buy their milk and bread.

By John Loof, nzherald.co.nz, June 14, 2010

The introduction of smoke-free legislation in England was followed by a 2.4 per cent drop in the number of emergency hospital admissions for heart attacks, new research shows.
The government-funded study, which was carried out by scientists at the University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group, is the first to look at rates of heart attacks since the implementation of the legislation on July 1st 2007.
Researchers analysed hospital admissions for all heart attacks among over-18s in England between July 2002 and September 2008.

Publishing their findings in the British Medical Journal, they revealed that the number of emergency admissions for heart attacks fell by 2.4 per cent, resulting in 1,200 fewer heart attacks during the first year of the legislation.

A reduction was seen for both men and women over the age of 60, but not for younger women.

The findings suggest that even in England – where levels of secondhand smoke exposure were already lower than in many countries thanks to the high number of smoke-free public places and workplaces before the ban – the legislation has had a significant beneficial effect on people’s health.

First author Dr Michelle Sims, who is a research officer in the University of Bath’s School for Health and the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, confirmed: “After the implementation of smoke-free legislation there was a statistically significant drop of 2.4 per cent in the number of emergency admissions for myocardial infarction.

“This implies that just over 1,200 emergency admissions for myocardial infarction were prevented over a 12-month period.”

Recently-published research suggests that non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke may have a similar risk of coronary heart disease to that found in light smokers.

Lead researcher Dr Anna Gilmore, director of the Tobacco Control Research Group, said that the study provides “further evidence” of the benefits of smoke-free legislation.

She observed: “Given the large number of heart attacks in this country each year, even a relatively small reduction has important public health benefits.”

Betty McBride, director of policy and communications at the British Heart Foundation, commented that banning smoking in public places was “absolutely” the right thing to do.

“Government should see this as a green light for further life-saving measures – going beyond the forthcoming ban on vending machines – to crack down on illegal tobacco smuggling and introducing plain packaging on cigarette boxes,” she claimed.

Robin Hewings, Cancer Research UK’s tobacco control manager, said: “This study shows how smoke-free legislation helped to improve people’s health soon after it started – one of the reasons why 80 per cent of people back it.

“What’s also great news is that recent research shows that following the law’s introduction, fewer and fewer people are smoking in their own homes. This protects their families and children from the many health problems caused by secondhand smoke.

“We look forward to the new regulations putting tobacco out of sight at the point of sale and getting rid of cigarette vending machines. These new measures will help protect young people from tobacco marketing and remove easy access to cigarettes.”

From info.cancerresearchuk.org, June 10, 2010,

At least four groups are now questioning the credibility of a federal advisory panel created to study tobacco product safety, challenging two members with financial ties to drug firms that make smoking cessation products. At issue: Will the duo push to ban menthol ciggys and favor smokeless products?
The issue hit this week when the Center for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, filed a complaint against the FDA’s tobacco advisory panel for conflicts of interest since they have voting members who consult for pharmaceutical companies that work on nicotine delivery products to quit smoking.
The concern is that two members, Jack Henningfield and Neal Benowitz, have an incentive to favor smoking cessation products because they’ve advised drug firms on those products.

“This creates an obvious incentive for these members to ban menthol in cigarettes and create a multi-billion dollar market for more nicotine patches and gum potentially paid for by taxpayers,” says a critic. The menthol issue the advisory committee is considering is huge: Menthol cigarettes make up about one third of the cigarette market and eliminating them would likely shift users to smokeless products, say industry officials.

The FDA has rejected previous conflict charges and Benowitz told the New York Times this week: “My involvement with pharmaceutical companies is aimed at reducing the risk of smoking, quitting smoking. The aim of the committee is also to reduce the adverse health consequences of tobacco use.”

Besides the left-leaning CREW, the three other opposition groups are the Altria Group, the American Council on Science and Health, and the right-leaning Americans for Limited Government.

Bill Wilson of Americans for Limited Government said that having his and CREW oppose the two appointees on the panel shows how much of a concern there is.

“The odds may be greater of drawing a royal flush in poker than us agreeing on anything but we both know you the FDA shouldn’t have a stacked deck when playing with the taxpayers’ money,” he said. “However, two groups as disparate as ours, Americans for Limited Government, and CREW agree the FDA tobacco panel can’t possibly have a legitimate review of the science surrounding menthol’s use in cigarettes with multiple conflicts of interest by many of the panelists.”

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers, June 10, 2010, usnews.com

The next terror attack on America could be a self-inflicted wound — specifically, a cigarette burn.
Politicians expand tobacco taxes to discourage smoking and to feed their own nicotine-like addiction to public spending. Like so many others, this government action smolders with unintended consequences. Tobacco taxes create a perfect arbitrage opportunity that radical Muslims exploit to collect money for terrorist groups that murder Americans and our allies. Tobacco taxes should be cut, or at least frozen, before they fuel further Islamic-extremist violence.

Consider the first attack on the Twin Towers, which killed six and injured 1,040. As Patrick Fleenor recalled in a Cato Institute study, “counterfeit cigarette tax stamps were found in an apartment used by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad cell that carried out the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.”

By article.nationalreview.com, June 10, 2010