French smoking ban to take effect, stage smoking under fire and would you believe a THIRD of the world population smokes?

The French love to smoke. Almost as much as they love to make love with their faces, as the saying goes.

The big question now is will the country enforce the ban on smoking in public places, which takes effect Thursday. [link].

United Press International, which I thought had gone outta business (since you hardly ever see their wire copy in the papers), is carrying story that says the growing trend of banning smoking may well extend to actors performing on stage. Some get around such prohbitions by employing herbal smokes (presumably not that herb) but even some laws extend to non-tobacco smokes. [link]

According to a guy with an international group dedicated to helping people quit smoking, ONE-Third of the world's population smokes. I'm not sure I believe that. [link]