Cigarettes still have a mysterious power to shock and seduce. In 2004, a furore broke out in the US media over an iconic photograph of a battle-scarred young marine in Falluja, Iraq. The debate was not over torture, suicide bombing, or the rights and wrongs of the war, but the freshly lit cigarette between the 20-year-old's lips.
The image, which evoked memories of film icons such as James Dean or John Wayne, was criticised by newspaper readers for encouraging young people to smoke.
The controversy was a sign of how socially unacceptable smoking has become and how strong the anti-tobacco lobby has grown. With the smoking ban coming into force in England on 1 July, following similar bans in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the legal limit to buy cigarettes rising from 16 to 18 in October, the legislative noose is tightening further still.
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