Jessica Biel 'Throws Out Justin Timberlake's Cigarettes' To His Annoyance

It seems Justin Timberlake has been put in a bad mood and it has been reported that he was "ticked off" when Jessica Biel threw his cigarettes and lighters away. Uh ohhh!

The couple tied the knot in a lavish $6.5 million ceremony in Italy in October, and before the nuptials, Justin apparently promised Jessica he would quit smoking once they were hitched.

But despite them being married only a month, it seems Justin is no nearer to ditching the tobacco. This is said to have annoyed Jessica, who took it upon herself to throw away his cigarettes!

A source told the National Enquirer: "He told her there's no way the marriage will last if she takes it upon herself to dig through his stuff rather than ask nicely."

Jessica is reportedly so desperate for Justin to kick the habit that she vowed to not start a family with him until he has been smoke free for at least six months, reports .

Despite their reported disagreement,the newlyweds are said to be very happy now they are married. The couple honeymooned on safari in Tanzania, with Jessica overheard chatting about the getaway to Scarlett Johansson at the recent New York City Hitchcock premiere.

Jessica said: "It was like magic. It was like heaven. It was the most beautiful thing."

Ahhh, well we're glad everything is running smoothly - but Justin, kick the habit! Do you think Jessica was harsh to throw his cigs out?

Switzerland to Increase Cigarette Tax in 2013

 During a recent sitting, the Swiss Federal Council united on plans to increase the tax imposed on cigarettes and on other tobacco products in the Confederation from April 1, 2013.

As a result, the price of a packet of cigarettes is to rise by CHF0.10 and a 50 gram packet of fine cut tobacco will cost CHF0.60 more from April next year.

The planned tobacco tax rise has been deemed necessary for both fiscal and health reasons. The measure is expected to yield additional fiscal revenues for the state of an estimated CHF50m (USD52.9m) annually. The additional revenues will be used to consolidate the budget.

In making its decision, the Federal Council not only considered possible additional revenues, but also evaluated the evolution of cigarette prices both in neighbouring countries and in the European Union as a whole. The Federal Council took into account the percentage of smokers in Switzerland and considered other factors such as black market sales of tobacco products, smuggling, and cigarette sales in border areas.
The Swiss Federal Council had already indicated that the tax on tobacco products would rise back in October, as part of a series of savings measures.

Tobacco tax was last increased in Switzerland at the beginning of 2011. Over the last few years the Federal Council has adopted a “balanced” approach to its tobacco tax policy, involving “small steps”, says Tax-News.
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WHO urges tax hike on tobacco

China's tobacco tax rate is still among the world's lowest, and the government should increase it to help curb a smoking epidemic that afflicts more than 300 million people on the mainland, according to the World Health Organization

About half of Chinese smokers spend 5 yuan (80 US cents) or less on a pack of 20 cigarettes, which is "much, much lower than the average cost in developed countries," said Angela Pratt, technical officer of the Tobacco Free Initiative in the WHO office in China.

Pratt made her remarks at a media briefing to prepare for Friday's launch of the Chinese-language translation of the WHO Technical Manual on Tobacco Tax Administration.

According to the manual, which was first published in 2010, total taxes on cigarettes account for about 50 percent of the average retail price for cigarettes at the global level, with the average price of a packet being $2.53. The lower-middle-income countries have both lower tobacco prices and lower rates of tobacco taxation.

The excise tax rate in China is 36 percent or 56 percent for cigarettes with different factory prices, official statistics show.

WHO has recommended that at least 70 percent of the retail price of cigarettes come from excise taxes to effectively reduce tobacco consumption, yet it says the excise tax accounts for only about 25 percent in tobacco's retail price in China, reports ChinaDaily.

How Fast Can Britney Spears Take a Cigarette Break?

For weeks now X Factor audiences have witnessed something entirely unexpected: judge Britney Spears composed, present, and engaged in the show, and entirely breakdown-free. These shows, however, have been built around previously taped material, with the moments featured cherry-picked from weeks of shooting at audition cities around the nation — and tonight the rubber hits the road with Spears' first live show. For two unscripted hours, America's most speculated-upon starlet of modern times will appear live before millions, marking her first major live TV appearance since the ill-fated VMA's performance in 2007, which capped the era of her public meltdown.

And according to sources on the set, the pressure point tonight will come in the most unexpected of places: the question of whether Britney makes it back from her cigarette breaks on time. Of all the woes a member of a reality show cast faces, perhaps none is more harrowing than squeezing in a quick cigarette during the brief commercial breaks.

The X Factor judges' desk sits a good 40 seconds from the nearest driveway where one can safely light up. During the roughly three-minute commercial breaks, judge Simon Cowell — first on American Idol and then on X Factor — has made a tradition of taking a brisk walk across the set when the cameras stop, through the giant sliding elephant doors next to the sound stage, through the makeup area and out into the driveway, where he would take a very small number of very deep drags before stamping his cigarette out and returning to the desk by the time lights went up.

According to sources on the junior levels of the production team, during the auditions, Spears paused frequently to step out of the arenas for a smoke, on some days between every act, often stepping away for 10 to 20 minutes at a time, BuzzFeed reports. During these prerecorded episodes, the production could and would pause and wait for the star to return. However, X Factor will be able to afford her no such luxury when cameras roll tonight.