Fashion Smoking Club

 

 

Summoning the will power to quit smoking is one of the most challenging tasks that many adults will face. Cigarettes are easily accessible and socially accepted, and that it can be hard to stay away from them. With other forms of chemical dependency addicts must remove themselves completely from the culture that supports their habit. When you can buy your drug of choice at the local supermarket though, this becomes a much greater challenge. Though there are stories of folks who were able to simply walk away, the more common tale is one of struggle and repeated failure.

Perhaps the most important thing that you can do if you have decided that you want to stop smoking is to enlist the help of a friend or family member to hold you accountable. Having someone there to provide encouragement along the way will be more valuable than any stop smoking product that you can buy. It is important to remember that smoking can be just as much an emotional addiction as it is physical. While different sides of the medical community try to argue either side, it is probably safe to conclude that both factors come into play. That is why you need to ensure that you’ll have great support around you to compliment the consumer products that you have chosen to help you quit smoking.

There are, of course, a number of consumer products on the market to help you stop smoking. Everything from chewing gum, arm patches, and hypnotic sessions claim to have the ability to curb your cravings for the next cigarette. Some smokers have found these products to be helpful in varying degrees, but it is important to remember that they are only tools. The ultimate decision to quit must still come from inside of you.

For many smokers, the will power to quit smoking is driven more by a concern for other people in their lives than by concern for themselves. New parents decide that they don’t want their kids to grow up exposed to second hand smoke and grandparents decide that they want their grandkids to know them on into adulthood. These family ties are strong motivators and have been the key to success for many adults who have quit smoking.

If you do decide, preferably with the help of your doctor, to use one of the commercial products available to help you stop smoking, you should do plenty of research ahead of time so that you know what to expect. Familiarize yourself with the dosages, as some decrease gradually over time and others stay constant. You should also make it a point to be ready for any side effects that may occur.

In the battle to quit smoking, the responsibility ultimately land on you. While you can utilize the best products available and surround yourself with a strong network of support, none of that will help if you haven’t made a commitment to yourself to stop smoking. Take the first step. Decide that you won’t be a slave to addiction and that you will do what ever it takes to improve the quality of your life, and in turn, the quality of life for your loved ones.

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We’re all affected by images of Hollywood celebrities smoking but whether celebrities have a moral responsibility to us all to quit smoking in their working and private lives is another matter.

So why do celebrities continue to smoke when they risk so much from the aging effects of smoking on their skin?

The world of Hollywood celebrities is pretty superficial based as it is almost entirely on looks and image. As such, it’s truly astounding to see so many celebrities smoking.

Surely we all know by now just how great an impact cigarette smoke has on our skin. Even if, by some strange twist of fate, celebrities themselves manage to remain ignorant of the effects of smoking on skin aging, they have armies of advisors and image consultants. Surely someone in their inner circle could warn them about recent research - how smoking dehydrates the skin, destroys vitamin C, damages collagen, accelerates wrinkling and produces the classic ’smokers face’.

Its impossible to believe that reasonably intelligent people can remain ignorant of these essential facts. Celebrities must know that smoking will damage their looks and prematurely age them and yet they choose to carry on - all the while spending small fortunes on personal trainers, nutritionists, plastic surgeons and anti aging creams and lotions.

Could it be that the average Hollywood celebrity has been influenced by the glamour associated with smoking cigarettes? Perhaps if you spend long enough in the fantasy world of film you start to believe in the celluloid image. Just like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ you lose touch with reality.

After all, it’s not so long ago that everybody who was a somebody in Hollywood smoked and was proud of it. Cigarette smoking was glamorous and sophisticated. Just think of the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ as Holly Golightly posing elegantly with her long cigarette holder, upswept chignon and little black dress.

What’s not so elegant of course is the way Audrey Hepburn succumbed to the smoking habit herself. Ignoring her mother’s ‘beauty tip’ to: "keep to six cigarettes a day only", Hepburn managed two or three packs at her worst times - even smoking in her nun’s habit on the set of ‘The Nun’s Story’ and chain smoking her way through ‘My Fair Lady’.

Unsurprisingly, she suffered from asthma for most of her life and died of cancer at only 63 - looking frail and old for her years. Not the kind of ending we like to imagine for the sublime Holly Golightly.

There’s no doubt that the very nature of the movie business has caused many a celebrity to start treading the nicotine path. Smoking is as common in movies today as it was back in the 1950’s although overall smoking in the population at large (the Western half anyway) has reduced.

Could it be that a cigarette has become the film prop of choice for actors looking for an easy way to become someone else on screen.

For some celebrities - tired of the constant criticism and the ciggy shots splashed across the tabloids - a kind of smokingdefiance has crept in. As Gwyneth Paltrow once said, "I smoke and I’m not going to stop!"

Paltrow - famous for getting through a pack of Camel Lights a day in her teens and twenties - has only relatively recently quit smoking. Perhaps she started to wonder how her fine, fair skin and ethereal beauty would cope with the collagen depletion later in life.

Some celebrities keep going with the smoking habit whatever the consequences and even if it messes up their relationships. It’s well known that smoking was a bone of contention between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston during their marriage but it was Brad that left and Jennifer carried on smoking.

Similarly, iconic top model Kate Moss is regularly photographed with her cigarette, a lighter and a mobile phone as her only fashion accessory. As a supreme super model its probably not surprising that she still manages to appear elegant and beautiful however she’s photographed - at least for now.

She certainly shows no signs of wanting to quit smoking any time soon. Perhaps like so many in her world - she associates smoking with thinness. Or perhaps she is well and truly hooked after chain smoking from the age of 16.

When many Hollywood celebrities chose to quit smoking it’s fascinating that the reasons given are so often not about looks. Catherine Zeta-Jones said she quit smoking because she didn’t want her children to start asking questions. Not - as you might have thought - because smoking would accelerate skin aging and undermine her potential to earn huge sums of money.

Whatever the reasons celebrities have for smoking or for deciding to quit smoking - the truth about skin damage and smoking very rarely features in the debate.

Surely it’s about time it did? Of course celebrity smokers are free to carry on smoking as much as they like - but they can’t expect the tabloids and fanzines to ignore the damage smoking does to their looks.

So when middle age arrives and the ’smokers face’ is revealed - smoking celebs may need lots of time in make up before a close up - just like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’.
Related articles:

    * Kate Moss: middle aged at 32?
    * Older celebrities say "no" to more plastic surgery
    * Anti Aging Tips - Top Ten
    * Susan Sarandon - fabulous at 59…
    * Meryl Streep: naturally younger looking

 

 

 

Lindsay Lohan has risked fueling rumors she has an eating disorder by posing for a series of topless shots that show off her bony frame. 

The star peeled off for an arty photoshoot with celebrity photographer/fashion designer Hedi Slimane, using her hair and arms to shield her breasts from the camera.

But the black-and-white shots reveal Lohan’s painfully thin torso, and in some pictures, her shoulders and hip bones are noticeably protruding.

The star’s parents recently expressed concern at her plummeting weight, and several magazines have speculated she is possibly suffering from an eating disorder. Probably she forget how many cigarettes she is smoking

Lohan, 22, recently denied the claims, putting her weight loss down to "working a lot, stress … and lack of sleep when I travel."

The deadly grip of smoking, right from the initial, experimental puffs to the full blown habit of never being at ease without a cigarette clipped between the lips, is impossible to shake off without  a high level of determination, and often, professional help. Blessed are those who never start, for they do not burn a hole in their pockets, nor run the risk of contracting a plethora of dreaded diseases, cancer being just one.  
A hard-hitting campaign to offset the feeling of machismo of a young novitiate with the grim and gruesome image of hollowed out skull-bones could keep a lot of youngsters off the habit, and compel many a confirmed smoker to kick the addiction, but the government agencies concerned do not pursue the idea to its full potential, perhaps out of respect for the billions of rupees earned from the sale of cigarettes.
Given the hundreds of thousands of smoking related deaths every year in the country, one would have expected the government to launch a war on the scourge on every possible front – the ban of smoking in public places is a good step, but incorrigible smokers will find their secluded refuge anywhere to have their surreptitious puff . It is these die-hard acolytes who have to be won over to an alternative lifestyle which does not require them to put their health and wealth at risk. It is a psychological battle with long-held notions that has to be won, and health companies, which are at the forefront of enumerating the evils of smoking, could do their bit by devising antidotes that could help “victims” reduce their dependence on the lethal puff. Even the ban on smoking in public places needs to be enforced with a zeal rivaling that of a crusade if the non-smoking public is to be spared the toxic effects of inhaling carcinogenic fumes.
The cost of preventive measures, including the admittedly expensive ant-smoking publicity campaign and medical antidotes to the curse, should be offset with the cost to the nation in terms of dealing with the deadly diseases spawned by smoking. The figures of the liability in financial terms have not been communicated forcefully enough if at all such a study has been conducted in the country. The facts on this count could persuade policy makers and planners to devote adequate funding to the various aspects of the anti-smoking drive.
Of particular use could be generating a stigma against smoking through all means possible to make the act unattractive to youngsters, large numbers of whom are falling into the habit by the day. The menace has to be tackled using the same techniques as for promoting a product, only the corporate wagon has to run in reverse in this case. A beginning could be made by highlighting the blessedness of good health and the limitless possibilities of a healthy person, and juxtaposing it with the severe limitations of a victim stricken by smoking related diseases. Ad gurus could go a bit further by identifying non-smokers with those most successful with the fairer gender, and smokers among unsatisfying performers. By portraying the smoker as the one who loses the race for the damsel because of his unattractive habit, a large dent could be made in the incidence of smoking cigarettes. If it really sets its mind to it, the media can turn non-smoking into a fashion statement, one that comes without a hefty bill. The prettiest damsel in this case could go to the hunk who has never touched a cigarette in his life. If the dream-sellers could conjure up feminine disapproval for the habit, it would act as a powerful disincentive to those inclined to grab a pack just to impress the ladies. But the question is: Will the ad world play?

Parents are being urged to stub out their cigarettes and turn them into savings for their children in 2009.

According to the Children’s Mutual, mums and dads who make it their new year’s resolution to kick the habit could save thousands of pounds.

By putting this money into savings accounts, they could build up a sizeable nest egg for their offspring to access once they turn 18.

The Children’s Mutual uses NHS figures to calculate that a five-a-day smoker could save an average of £40 a month by giving up.

Over an 18-year period, this could grow to £15,500 if invested each month. The savings could be significantly higher for those who smoke cigarettes ten or more cigarettes a day, the child trust fund provider adds.

Marketing director Tony Anderson said: "What better incentive could there be for sticking to a resolution than the knowledge that, as well as improving your own long-term wellbeing, the commitment could further benefit your children."

Meanwhile, research from Alliance & Leicester shows that one-quarter of UK consumers plan to save more money in 2009.   

 

 

 A good place to start is Madonna, whose appeal centers on men and women in their twenties; she has exceeded all other recording artists in sales to this group. Despite her myriad changes in look and image, and the complexity of the controversies she has provoked, the basis of her appeal is simple and constant. "I’m the boss around here," is her signature self- assertion, and regardless of the pleasure she chooses- -frilly feminine submission, sadomasochism, lesbian homoeroticism or sex-pot blondness–the choice is hers, and she is admired for it, and for her expression of it; the Chancellor of Boston University recently devoted a graduation ceremony to a diatribe against what he saw as the unabashed self-interest of young adults. What prompted his lecture: a graduating student told him that he admired Madonna more than anyone else because, "she can do what she wants."

Madonna
• Smoking marlboro while presenting award to George Michael, MTV Video Music Awards, c. ‘88/’89
• Smoked in video for "Express Yourself" video while seated, ‘89
• Smoked during skit, MTV 10 year anniversary special, ‘92
• Smoked in video for "Bad Girl", ‘92
• smoked a cigar, starting at 7 minutes, 11 seconds, "Late Show with David Letterman", Mar. 31, ‘94
• "Guy Ritchie’s girlfriend Madonna ordered him to quit smoking", World Entertainment News Network, Nov. 14, ‘00
• "Tony Ward, a dancer on her Justify My Love video, met her at a party when Madonna stubbed a cigarette out on his bare back", Scottish Daily Record, Nov. 27, ‘00
• "Gwyneth Paltrow’s dad, producer Bruce Paltrow, got his friend Leo Penn to get his son’s then wife, Madonna, to write young Gwyn a letter, which is quoted in the November issue of Harper’s Bazaar. ‘Dear Gwyneth, Just to jot down my average day … I wake up, I don’t smoke …,’ wrote Madonna, ending her note with ‘And I go home a happy healthy me. Love, Me, Madonna. P.S. Good girls live longer’", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 24, ‘01
• "At a time when many of her contemporaries were in thrall to drugs or drink-or both- Madonna kept a clear head and a clean body, allowing herself only the occasional puff on a joint or a vodka tonic.", "Madonna" by Andrew Morton, ‘01, p. 105
• held cigarette in video for "Rain", when?
• "Guy Ritchie is to undergo hypnotism in a bid to quit smoking, PeopleNews can reveal. His would-be saviour? The highly successful television mind-bender Paul McKenna. The move follows a volley of complaints from Madonna, the mother of his son Rocco, about his addiction to the weed; at one stage she even instructed her security guards to follow him to the lavatories to ensure he was not having a covert smoke. PeopleNews has been told that the idea of hypnotism - the last resort for many dedicated puffers - came up at the premiere of Ritchie’s last gangster film, Snatch, to which McKenna was invited. ‘Being a typical, health-conscious American, Madonna hates smoking and is always bending Guy’s ear about the dangers, and now he has bowed to the pressure,’ says a source close to the director. ‘McKenna was only to happy to accept the challenge. He has an almost 100% success rate at this sort of thing’"

 

Is it true that celebrities really desist from endorsing cigarettes of all hues? Is it because they are conscious of their social responsibilities? Pictures of celebrities smoking appear glamorous and civilized, regardless of the context of the scene in a movie and thus it strikes a cord with teens. They are shown at parties with a cigarette which pushes young people to emulate them. The brands they smoke, Marlboro cigarettes, Camel, Winston, Virginia Slims, Salem etc, become a point of campus discussion.

Could it be that the stars themselves have been influenced by the glamour that was once associated with cigarettes? Perhaps if you spend long enough in the fantasy world of film you start to believe in the celluloid image. Just like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ you lose touch with reality.

After all, it’s not so long ago that everybody who was somebody in Hollywood smoked and was proud of it. Cigarettes smoking was glamorous and sophisticated. Just think of the iconic image of Audrey Hepburn in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ as Holly Golightly posing elegantly with her long cigarette holder, upswept chignon and little black dress.

What’s not so elegant of course is the way Audrey Hepburn succumbed to the smoking habit herself. Ignoring her mother’s ‘beauty tip’ to: "keep to six cigarettes a day only", Hepburn managed two or three packs at her worst times - even smoking in her nun’s habit on the set of ‘The Nun’s Story’ and chain smoking her way through ‘My Fair Lady’. Unsurprisingly, she suffered from asthma for most of her life and died of cancer at only 63 - looking frail and old for her years. Not the kind of ending we like to imagine for the sublime Holly Golightly.
There’s no doubt that the very nature of the movie business has caused many a celebrity to start treading the nicotine path. Smoking is as common in movies today as it was back in the 1950’s although overall smoking in the population at large has reduced. Could it be that a cigarette has become the film prop of choice for actors looking for an easy way to inhabit another skin?
For some celebrities - tired of the constant criticism and the ciggy shots splashed across the tabloids - a kind of smoking defiance has crept in. As Gwyneth Paltrow once said, "I smoke and I’m not going to stop!" Paltrow - famous for getting through a pack of Camel Lights a day in her teens and twenties - has only very recently quit smoking. Perhaps she started to wonder how her fine, fair skin and ethereal beauty would cope with the collagen depletion in her fourties and fifties.
Some celebrities keep going with the smoking habit whatever the consequences and even if it impacts on their relationships. It’s well known that smoking was a bone of contention between Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston during their marriage. Brad Pitt is on record as saying how much he hated his ex-wife’s chain smoking. His disapproval didn’t cut much ice with Jennifer though - as recent paparazzi photos show. You have to ask why one of the worlds most loved and naturally attractive women would do this to themselves?
Similarly, iconic top model Kate Moss is regularly photographed with her cigarettes, a lighter and a mobile phone as her only fashion accessory. As a supreme super model its probably not surprising that Moss still manages to appear effortlessly elegant and beautiful however she’s photographed - at least for now. She certainly shows no signs of wanting to quit smoking any time soon. Perhaps like so many in her world - she associates smoking with thinness. Or perhaps, for her, it’s the least troubling of her addictions.
When celebrities do chose to quit its fascinating that the reasons given are so often not about looks. Catherine Zeta-Jones for instance, quit smoking - so she said - because she didn’t want her children to start asking questions. Not as you might have thought - because beauty is her personal trademark and smoking would kick-start skin aging and undermine her potential to earn huge sums of money.
Whatever the reasons celebrities have for smoking or for deciding to quit - the truth about skin damage and smoking very rarely features as a major factor in the debate. Well - we think it should. So our advice to all you celebrity smokers out there - carry on smoking if you want but don’t expect your fickle public not to notice the effect on your looks. And when you hit a deluded middle age you may still be able to say, like Gloria Swanson in ‘Sunset Boulevard’: "I’m ready for my close-up now Mr de Mille" - but only if it’s filmed in heavy soft-focus, expertly back-lit and then extensively re-touched afterwards.

       
   Angelina Jolie
       
              •      "She smiles, knocks a cigarette out of a nearly empty pack, and lights it with a paper match", Premiere Magazine, Oct. ‘99
              •      "She is what one might call a sympathetic smoker. You light up, she lights up. Until she starts talking about her past, which wasn’t as glamorous as one would think. Then she chain smokes-all by herself.", "Jolie excuses herself to go to the hotel lobby and buy another pack of smokes. When she returns and lights up again, she mutters aloud, ‘Why am I smoking so much?’", Harper’s Bazaar, Nov. ‘99
              •      "She clamps a Parliament Light between her teeth, lighting it with a hot- pink Bic…dumping her cigarette ash onto a bread plate…She lights another cigarette…dreamily watching a plume of smoke ascend to the ceiling", San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 12, ‘99
              •      "Angelina lights a parliament cigarette and looks around the room.", Sky, Dec. ‘99
              •      "she sits perched on the bed of her Los Angeles hotel room wearing a crumpled grey suit and smoking a cigarette…lighting another cigarette…She stubs her cigarette out gently", Empire Magazine, Feb. ‘00
           
              •      "Jolie pauses to light a cigarette", Jezebel, Feb. ‘00
              •      "She smokes a lot", Marie Claire (Australia), Feb. ‘00
              •      "she sips coffee and draws deeply on her cigarette", Elle Magazine (Australia), Mar. ‘00
              •      "Next, she headed to the bar for a glass of champagne and a cigarette before anxious awards officials grabbed her and insisted she come to the stage to present", Cosmopolitan, May 1, ‘00
              •      "She’s giving up sweets and cigarettes", Philadelphia Inquirer, Jun. 8, ‘00
              •      "cigarette dangling from her plump, pouty lips", USA Weekend, Jun. 11, ‘00
              •      "To prepare for the action movie ‘Lara Croft’, Jolie says, ‘They took away my cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine and sugar’", World Entertainment News Network, Aug. 14, ‘00
              •      "A cigarette and a diet Coke, that’s all I need", "lights a Parliament", AP, Sep. 28, ‘00