Tobacco.org

Merle Haggard beats lung cancer, but craves pot 

Merle Haggard is not letting a bout with lung cancer get in the way of his ambitious touring and recording plans.

Seven weeks after the 71-year-old country legend had a lemon-sized tumor removed in what he calls "the greatest test of my fortitude," he said on Wednesday that he expects to work harder in 2009 than he has in 20 years.

Haggard says he is singing better now that he is in the throes of kicking his daily marijuana habit. . . .

They will be the first shows of his life where he has not loosened up before with either tobacco or marijuana, he said. "So it's gonna be interesting as to what kind of a show comes out of this body that's used to performing the other way."

Jump to full article »

Kings of Leon in Smoking Row 

Rockers Kings of Leon are at the centre of a smoking row after guitarist Matthew Followill lit up during a concert in Wales.

The star is said to have flouted the British smoking ban, which bans cigarettes from all public indoor areas, including music venues, while on stage at the International Arena in Cardiff, Wales on Wednesday

Jump to full article »

truth® Spins On  

Desmond Williams, a Washington, DC-based DJ and producer, created an electronica-infused, three-minute riff to be named the winner of an online DJ contest hosted by truth®. The youth smoking prevention campaign asked fans to create their own remixes of a song from the latest truth® advertising campaign, the Sunny Side of truth®. Mr. Williams' version was voted the best of all the entries submitted on imeem.com, a popular music community. Mr. Williams won a $600 DJ software package, and his track will be promoted by truth® on popular music sites like imeem, iTunes, and Pandora, among others. The winning track can be heard at http://www.imeem.com/thetruth/.

Williams, a professional engineer, producer, and musician for more than 20 years, re-mixed his own version of the song from the campaign television ad "Typo." The ad, which ran earlier this year, featured animated typewriters, documents and liquid paper filling the air, accompanied by teens who sing about how statistics on the millions of deaths from tobacco "must have been a typo." David Yazbek, a Tony-nominated lyricist and composer, wrote the original "Typo" music featured in the tongue-in-cheek campaign.

Mr. Williams joins the nine innovative DJs and bands who previously re-mixed songs from the "Sunny Side of truth®" advertising campaign in styles from house and hip-hop to electro. As part of the truth® "ReMix" project launched in July 2008, DJs and bands such as Cobra Starship, Diplo, Kaskade, Mix Master Mike and more were asked to put their own twist on songs from the campaign. The ReMix music tracks were then packaged as a special CD compilation and available for download online as part of a comprehensive effort to reach more of the teen audience through technology and alternative media & entertainment.

Jump to full article »

Smoking ban cuts both ways for bars 

A committee of the Indianapolis City-County Council heard the arguments for expanding a smoking ban Wednesday night. But one local business doesn't like the sound of the proposal.

A lot of people have a very traditional idea about places like the Chatterbox jazz club.

"Jazz, smoking and drinking...they all go together," said Chatterbox owner David Andrichik.

But there are some who want to break with tradition and eliminate smoking at the Chatterbox and any other indoor workplace.

"We want to protect all workers because we think that nobody should have to choose between their health and a paycheck," said Tim Filler of SmokeFree Indy.

So, Filler and other members of SmokeFree Indy encouraged members of the council committee to expand the smoking restrictions approved in 2005.

"The law in its current form leaves some people behind," said Filler.

Jump to full article »

Paul Weller lights up on stage - again 

Rocker Paul Weller today faced his second complaint for smoking on stage within a week after he lit up in front of thousands of fans.

Weller and his crew ignored requests not to smoke during two gigs held last week at the borough council-owned K2 Crawley venue in Crawley, West Sussex.

Officials from Crawley Borough Council said Weller's defiance of the rules placed them in a "very difficult position" but they allowed the shows to continue.

It was the second complaint levelled at the former frontman of the Jam and the Style Council within a week.

The Cliffs Pavilion in Southend, Essex, was issued with a warning by Southend Borough Council after Weller flouted anti-smoking regulations at the venue on Saturday.

Jump to full article »

Weller lights up on stage - again  

Rocker Paul Weller has faced his second complaint for smoking on stage within a week after he lit up in front of thousands of fans in Crawley.

Weller and his crew ignored requests not to smoke during two gigs held last week at the borough council-owned K2 Crawley venue.

Officials from Crawley Borough Council said Weller's defiance of the rules placed them in a "very difficult position"

Jump to full article »

Paul Weller In A Jam For Breaking Cigarette Smoking Ban On Stage In Southend  

Singer Paul Weller is in a jam after smoking on stage during three gigs in a week.

Paul Weller smoked on stage at a gig

He could land a venue a �2500 fine for lighting up during his set as smoking in public buildings is banned.

However, the cigarettes were all part of the singer's "artistic integrity", according to the Southend venue the former Jam frontman played on Saturday night.

Jump to full article »

British theatre in trouble after Weller lights up 

A theatre found itself in a jam after rock star Paul Weller lit up a cigarette on stage.

The Cliffs Pavilion, in Southend, Essex, was issued with a warning after council bosses found Weller flouted anti-smoking regulations.

Weller, former frontman of the Jam and the Style Council, performed at the venue on Saturday.

Jump to full article »

Cliffs may face fine over rock star's on-stage smoking  

ROCK legend Paul Weller could cost a popular entertainment venue �2,500 after flouting the smoking ban on stage.

Weller, former frontman of the Jam and the Style Council, performed at the Cliffs Pavilion on Saturday, where he repeatedly smoked on stage during his set.

Southend Council, which owns the freehold to the Cliffs, has promised to investigate the matter and warned any breach of the smoking ban would be taken seriously.

Paul Driscoll, marketing manager for Cliffs, said there was allowance within the law which permitted artists to smoke in order to preserve “artistic integrity”.

He said: “While we would always draw people’s attention to the law, there is an exception clause which allows performing acts to smoke if necessary.

“It is used to allow actors in period plays to portray people smoking, like Winston Churc-hill with a cigar.

“Mr Weller felt smoking was integral to the mood of his set.

Jump to full article »

PETITION TO STOP TOKIO HOTEL FROM SMOKING THEIR CAREERS AWAY  

This is a petition to stop the members of the German band Tokio Hotel from smoking. As Tokio Hotel fans, we are all concerned about their health, Especially Bill Kaulitz's (the lead singer) voice. We will send a letter to Tokio Hotel after we have reached a certain number of signatures so they can see how many of their fans are worried about their health. Please sign if you support this cause and want Bill, Tom, Georg and Gustav to stop smoking their careers away. :(

Jump to full article »

Danish Rockstar Uses Nazi Slogan to Protest Smoking Ban 

A pro-smoking campaign launched in Denmark by one of the country's best-known rockstars features a notorious Nazi slogan. The country's modest Jewish community is refusing to take offense.

As frontman of Gasolin', a seminal rock band which enjoyed its heyday in the 1970s, Kim Larsen has always been one of the bad boys of Danish rock. And like any self-respecting hellraiser, he's vociferously anti-establishment.

In the best rock 'n' roll tradition, he's also a die-hard smoker. So it comes as no surprise that he doesn't like the EU's anti-smoking laws introduced in Denmark one year ago, which ban smoking in public bars and restaurants. . . .

Not the type who likes being told what to do, Larsen recently helped fund an advertising campaign revolving around the slogan "Tillykke med rygeforbudet -- Gesundheit macht frei!!!"

The first claim means "good luck with the smoking ban" in Danish, while the German slogan "health sets you free" is an obvious allusion to the Nazi slogan "Arbeit macht frei," or "work sets you free," which was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps, such as Auschwitz and Dachau.

"The people who introduced the smoking ban are health fascists," Larsen has been quoted as saying.

Jump to full article »

Authority revokes rocker's smoking right  

A concert hall in Jutland is being forced to change its position on allowing musician Kim Larsen to smoke when he performs there next week

Musician Kim Larsen will not be allowed to smoke at Esbjerg's Musikhuset after all when his band performs there next week, reports public broadcaster DR. . . .

Larsen, an activist for smokers' rights, had been granted the allowance by Musikhuset director Torben Seldrup, who said that smoking was a part of 'popular musicians' artistic expression'.

Jump to full article »

Del Mar board bans smoking at annual county fair 

In response to complaints about marijuana use at summer concerts, the Del Mar Fairgrounds has banned cigarette smoking at the annual county fair and approved a policy allowing pat-down searches at reggae concerts.

The new rules will not apply to the dozens of other concerts and events - including the summer horse races - held at the fairgrounds and racetrack throughout the year.

The fairgrounds' board of directors has been under pressure from anti-smoking activists since August, when people complained about blatant marijuana smoking during a Ziggy Marley reggae concert at the racetrack grandstands.

The controversy over pot led to the idea of a tobacco ban. Activists, including Debra Kelly of the American Lung Association for San Diego and Imperial Counties, said that banning cigarette smoking would make it easier to crack down on marijuana use.

Jump to full article »

The Clintons to perform at tobacco-free event 

The rock band The Clintons will be in concert at Miller’s Crossing tonight to mark the official kickoff of a new Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program ad campaign.

The “I Can’t Wait n Expect Smokefree” campaign is designed to draw attention to Montana’s Clean Indoor Air Act. The ads started running earlier this month.

According to Linda Lee, MTUPP section supervisor for the Department of Public Health and Human Services, the new ad campaign draws attention to the fact that the majority of Montanans support smokefree public places, including workplaces like bars, restaurants and casinos.

Jump to full article »

THE VERVE: SMOKING HABIT THREATENS VERVE SHOWS 

THE VERVE refuse to line up lengthy concert runs because frontman RICHARD ASHCROFT's smoking habit leaves him struggling onstage.

Fellow smoker Simon Jones admits he pities his bandmate because he's always battling cigarette-related issues on the road, which often leave him with performance problems.

Jones says, "I really feel for Richard because he smokes and that's hard when you've got phlegm on your lungs and you get a cold or whatever.

Jump to full article »