Where There's Smoke, There's a Star - NYTimes article on celebs who smoke

[Meg]

Smoking is an appetite suppressant because it deadens taste buds and thus the taste of food in your mouth, and also I think your sense of smell.

I think what paparazzi shots do in general is glamorize a celebrity's life and if smoking is part of it...well then, that gets glamorized as well. When we look at celebs we often think of what they are doing as normal (because we don't see pictures of non-celebs doing the mundane) and therefore if people see a constant stream of celebs out at parties and smoking, it can become in underage people, well this is what you do at a party. Just like how a lot of people look at celebs weight as being the norm. I do think they factor in.

 

[Kimkhuu]

If celebs dictate what clothes are in and what are not... then I believe they do have the power to decide if smoking is cool or not..... as sad as it is......

Believe it or not.... ...smoking is not just an inner fantasy, it's after seeing someone else smoke and seem cool (generally) that you try.... Like it or not......

I don't think it's up to celebs to change their bad habits, but it's the kids that need to get a solid education showcasing the disadvantages of such acts......

It really is bad how downhill we're going......

Believe it or not.... ...a picture of James Dean smoking...... how many people started to smoke just to look like him...........!

 

[Zen]

You know what is so contradicting and funny at the same time? First seeing that picture of Leonardo Di Craprio smoking and the fact that he's a man who is an advocate for globel warming and the whole environment stuff. Doesn't he know every cigarette he smokes pollutes the air and damages our o-zone layers, and that it also pollutes our soils?

 

[mylilmike]

media influences people in a powerfull way. I think that the article could be on to something. Lots of people are stupid and will believe anything....

 

[mylilmike]

smoke

media influences people in a powerfull way. I think that the article could be on to something. Lots of people are stupid and will believe anything....

 

[Becky_da_da_da]

If kids are educated well enough, then a celeb smoking shouldn't have any reason to make them want to start smoking if they don't want to.

Millions of people smoke. Like someone has already said, it can't just be the fault of a few celebrities.

I don't think it does influence people.

 

[Pinky*]

celebs are paid to entertain us, not to be our role models..
parents and schools aren't doing a good enough job if kids are so easily influenced by celebs..
when Elvis started eating tubs of lard, did it become popular?
I don't think most people start smoking because they think its cool, though there are some of course. Those are the "social smokers" who will do anything just because their peers are doing it as well..

I can't really imagine someone seeing a picture of kate moss smoking and then pick up a cigarette because of it, can you? smoking is not an accessory like a handbag that has become trendy

 

[lunabella]

i don't think celebs or movies influence smoking. not for me or anyone i know at least. it's a personal choice.

 

[songbirdsel]

I think the media is certainly blamed for a lot of things but we do have to understand how much we feed into it. Likewise, most people don’t realise how much movies and photographs often glamorise smoking. I do think however that people are wise enough to make their own decisions. It’s silly to blame a bunch of famous people. Not showing people smoking or doing whatever is out of the moral norm would be ludicrous, like editing everyday life.

 

[smartarse]

I for one use to hate the smell of cigarette smoke. I didn't start puffing away till later ... i think i was 21. Actually , my first puff was the "other" kind. [ looks to see if the mods are around ]

...it was at a club in Montreal where I began to start smoking. The club was filled with smoke and I mean FILLED. Can't hardly see the people let alone see where you're at. And my first smoke was the Demuiriere or something like that. I think it was the equivalent of Camel. So celebrities didn't influence me. It was my peers, when I think about it.

source: nytimes.com



Do you think that celebs influence teenagers to smoke?
I'm still on the fence about it. I myself have never thought that smoking was cool, but my views stem from various factors (My dad's a physician, so I knew from a very young age about the hazards of smoking. I have asthma.), so I can't imagine what would compel people to pick up a cigarette.

 

[*AndoraStar*]

so they smoke.. WHO CARES!

 

[Golden_butterfly]

I think when it comes of smoking it has more to do with sorroundings and friends than a celebrity doing it. But what famous people DO influence is their perspective of beauty ( such as weight issues ) and fashion.

 

[ultramarine]

I remember when Natalie Portman got caught smoking with some other celebs .. I think Sophia Coppola was with her ... the fans of natalieportman.com where mostly dissapointed .. esp because of the fact that Ms Portman touched the topic seveal times (she smoking for the role of the professional and some interview where she noted she stayed clean -from teenage years-) ...

Hum ... im a smoker myself but i never started because the cool kids coud do it ... and I m concious that even tho its bad i dont wanna quit right away

 

[Pinky*]

I m concious that even tho its bad i dont wanna quit right away

I agree with you.. people know its bad for themselves and its not as if celebs make you think otherwise. they have a less than 1% chance in making you pick up the habit and are neither a factor in making you continue or make you feel you want to smoke..

but i think it does touch on reinforcing the idea that the habit is not simply an addiction to nicotine and that there is a serious subconscious or psychological factor in why we smoke.. whether its a personal, cultural, or social reason, etc etc..

so i really dislike the way its now acceptable for people to publicly to harass people on smoking, do they really think its as simple as being selfish and not caring about your health or of those around you?

 

[redambition2]

I Am A Teenager

I Don't Smoke

The Media Has A Huge Influence, Especially If Our Favortie Actor, Singer, Etc. Is A Smoker

But It Is A Personal Decision

Some Are More Easily Influenced Than Others

 

[tastes_like_chic]

These days there is a lot more education about the health effects of smoking - well in Australia anyway. I can understand in the 50's etc, more people smoked because of James Dean... these days people would laugh at you for smoking because a star does (well I would ).
In my state the government has embarked on banning smoking in public areas etc, etc. EG, if you smoke within 4 meters of a shopping entrance you face a fine of over $100... they have tried to ban it in bars but it is really hard to police.

 

[tastes_like_chic]

Then perhaps your friends simply eat waaay too much and don't exercise at all. There have been numerous studies confirming that smoking speeds metabolism and is an appetite depressant (mostly because you're too busy smoking to eat).

Honestly, lots of stars needing to drop weight (often baby-weight) or control weight resort to smoking. Kate Hudson was struggling with her baby-weight until you saw her smoking like a chimney and then suddenly rail-thin, thinner than she was before being pregnant. Kate Moss is certainly thinner now than she was pre-Lila (though obviously other factors were at play too), Lindsay L. smokes a ton, as does MK, Jenn Aniston has mentioned her struggles with weight & she smokes, and the list goes on and on ....

Hehe obviously the supresents in cigarettes don't work on my friends then

 

[iluvjeisa]

Unfortunately, smoking looks very cool - basically because it allows all sorts of graceful hand and arm movements to look purposeful, not to mention the mouth aspects. It's a way to be sensual in public without being weird. And naturally it numbs your taste buds - and kills your cells in general - causes mutations and all that.

There are other things you can do to numb out taste buds, though, such as eating pastilles with no kcals and lots of disgusting flavour (eucalyptus, menthol, vanilla).

Do celebs make young ones smoke - probably some are influenced, but then that should be their choice. If they're going for an unwholesome look and they don't care if they live or die as long as they make fabulous corpses - let them take the great risk if they want to. Other people take other risks - eat too much, have sex with people they don't know from adam, hitch hike, climb mountains...

 

[smartarse]

...interesting point, iluvjeisa! I've been told that when i smoke i looked cool but i didnt see the connection. it's not that i'm trying to be cool or anything i just needed a nic-fix blush: ) ...... NOW i see the possible connection! Very enlightened, indeed! karma for you (now that i know what a karma is! )

Unfortunately, smoking looks very cool - basically because it allows all sorts of graceful hand and arm movements to look purposeful, not to mention the mouth aspects. It's a way to be sensual in public without being weird. And naturally it numbs your taste buds - and kills your cells in general - causes mutations and all that.

There are other things you can do to numb out taste buds, though, such as eating pastilles with no kcals and lots of disgusting flavour (eucalyptus, menthol, vanilla).

 

[CelineChic]

...it was at a club in Montreal where I began to start smoking. The club was filled with smoke and I mean FILLED. Can't hardly see the people let alone see where you're at. And my first smoke was the Demuiriere or something like that. I think it was the equivalent of Camel.

They're called du Maurier and they're not the equivalent of Camel. Camels are much stronger. I would say that du Maurier is equivalent to regular American Marlboros.

I suppose that celebrities have a little influence, but in general, I think parents have more influence so it should be their responsibility to make it so their kids don't start to smoke.