The more complex a person’s diet plan, the sooner the person will abandon it, a new study finds. The finding came from a study of 390 German women who were using one of two diet plans. The simpler plan provided shopping lists for dieters and a meal plan they were to follow. The more complex plan assigned point values to every food and instructed participants to eat only a certain number of points each day. The women completed questionnaires over an eight-week span. “For people on a more complex diet that involves keeping track of quantities and items eaten, their subjective impression of t ... Jump to full article >>

USACIG, Inc. and Hop-on, Inc. today hailed last Thursday’s federal judge’s ruling saying the Food and Drug Administration must stop interfering with importing electronic cigarettes. The judge also indicated the devices should be regulated as tobacco products, rather than drug or medical devices. Jay Pignatello, President of USACIG, Inc., stated, “The smoking public is one of the largest marketplaces in the world, and smoking is a social activity. USACIG is coming to market at the best time. It is very simple — USACIG is an American company. We produce our nicotine with ... Jump to full article >>

MEL GIBSON has quit smoking for the sake of his newborn baby daughter. The one-time chain smoker is convinced he has kicked his nicotine habit once and for all – but it wasn’t easy. The Braveheart star explains, “The first three days, you’re an axe murderer. On day four you might take a bat to someone. Day five? You’re OK.” And his decision to quit smoking has had immediate health benefits: “I’ve lost five pounds and I can breathe all the way out.” Gibson’s baby girl, Lucia, was born in October (09). [caption id="attachment_3290" align="alignleft" width="203" caption="Mel G ... Jump to full article >>

Anti-smoking groups that are eager to cut smoking scenes from Hollywood movies have once again bit the dust as they have seen the future imagined by one of the best movie directors ever, and this future involves smoking. James Cameron who directed “Avatar” admitted that one of the major characters in the movie, brilliantly played by Sigourney Weaver was not designed to be a role model for younger generations, but simply showed that even in the future things won’t change. Stanton A. Glantz, head of Smoke Free Movies Campaign, said that it was a major back-blow for them to see smoking in s ... Jump to full article >>

The efforts to increase sales of low-risk smokeless tobacco have prompted major enemies Philip Morris and Reynolds American on the same side of the fence – lobbying for their respective products. Though, experts don’t believe that the two largest tobacco companies will cooperate to achieve their aim – convincing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate smokeless products as a sort of the golden mean between conventional tobacco products and nicotine-replacement therapies, such as patches and sprays. However, industry analysts admit that having these tobacco giants eager to amend regu ... Jump to full article >>

A half-smoked cigar, abandoned by wartime prime minister Winston Churchill, is up for sale in Norfolk. The four-inch unfinished “smoke” could fetch more than £300 because it came from the lips of the famous cigar-smoking statesman before he dashed away to an urgent cabinet meeting. Proof of its owner is thanks to an enterprising Downing Street valet, Nellie Goble, who grabbed the cigar, and a sheet of number 10 notepaper, on which she penned a note to a friend saying: “Just a small souvenir to remind you at some future date of one of the greatest men that ever lived in Engla ... Jump to full article >>

Last week’s letter from a Tallahassee-based business group that, according to records, has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the giant out-of-state tobacco manufacturers, included a complex distortion of facts. This same tainted information has been dished out to the media and legislators by the big tobacco companies for the past six legislative sessions. These giants have been working in Capitol backrooms for years to drive our small, family-owned South Florida company out of business. Florida’s landmark tobacco settlement was approved by the circuit court in Palm Bea ... Jump to full article >>

Somewhere in the afterlife’s screening room, Will Hays, architect of Hollywood’s old Production Code, and the stern Catholic bishops of the Legion of Decency are probably sharing a chuckle, maybe over Scotch and cigarettes. Why? The recent fuss over “Avatar,” the James Cameron film in which the latest in cinematic technology meets the oldest argument in the movies: whether vice on screen encourages vice in real life. In “Avatar,” a character played by Sigourney Weaver smokes. Antitobacco advocates say on-screen smoking — even by a character we’re supposed to dislike, like Ms. W ... Jump to full article >>

It’s not everyone who can earn £1.2million for just one evening’s work. But when the ‘employee’ is one of the world’s most popular singers – and she turns up dressed like this – then some may consider the fee to be well justified. These are the first pictures of Beyoncé Knowles performing at a private party for Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi’s son Mutasim-Billah on New Year’s Eve. The 28-year-old American superstar wore a revealing sparkly leotard for her hour-long set at Nikki Beach on the Caribbean island of St Barts. As she gyrated and ... Jump to full article >>

Madonna’s boyfriend Jesus Luz got a photo spread and Q&A with Interview magazine. Despite only being famous because he’s Madonna’s boyfriend, the topic of Madonna was off-limits for the interviewer. The Brazilian-born Luz filled time saying he likes New York’s energy and is growing as a DJ. He likes DJ-ing, he says, because “I like to be a channel of music, to give people music to dance to, to see the reactions of people when I use effects.” When the phone interview ends (cut short by the arrival of Luz’s Kabbalah teacher) he has just said he also wants to be an actor. The ... Jump to full article >>

Smoking enforcement officers in Swansea are urging drivers of work based vehicles to avoid lighting up and smoking in their vehicles. The advice follows a court case which resulted in a local taxi driver paying out over £600 after being found guilty of three offences relating smoking in a smoke free place. Smoking enforcement officers confirmed that the driver previously received a written warning and a fixed penalty for two offences in 2007 and 2008. The latest offences occured between May and August 2009 and resulted in a fine of £525 and included further costs of £85 and a £15 victim su ... Jump to full article >>