Celebs going up in smoke

With Salman Khan being fined `200 for lowering his guard and smoking in public, TOI gives a lowdown on other celebrities whose love for the fag end have landed them on the wrong side of the law
On World No-Tobacco Day, Salman Khan was fined `200 by Patiala’s local health department for smoking in public. He was spotted lighting up a fag on the sets of “Bodyguard”, inside Hotel Neemrana.Even the hotel owner has been slapped a fine and a warning has been issued asking Salman not to indulge in the same, the next time he’s in Patiala. With this fine, Salman joins a long list of celebrities — both Indian and international — who have been hauled up for lighting up outdoors and, sometimes, indoors as well.
Lady Gaga
Smoking indoors, including restaurants, pubs, private clubs, offices, malls, community centres, government buildings, is illegal in British Columbia. But that didn’t stop Lady Gaga from
lighting up a cigarette at a 2009 concert. Apparently, the “Poker Face” singer was so addicted to smoking that she couldn’t wait until she had finished the soldout gig in Vancouver. She shocked her audience by lighting up a cigarette and inhaling deeply. There were reports of the singer facing potential fines for smoking onstage.
Goutam Ghose
The director was at IFFI last year and won the Golden Peacock for “Moner Manush”. While in Goa, Ghose was found smoking on the lawns of the Kala Academy, which hosted the closing ceremony of the Festival. Police inspector Sandesh Chodankar had spotted the director smoking in the
‘prohibited area’ and booked him for violating the laws. Actor Ananya Chatterjee was also booked for a similar offence for smoking in public at IFFI.
Michael Jordan
The American basketball legend was fined $100 (`4,506.04) for smoking on the golf course at a celebrity charity event in San Francisco. Jordan had a cigar in his mouth while playing his round of golf. In fact, many golfers have this habit of smoking as a stressbuster. Unfortunately, Jordan was spotted by the anti-smoking cops and they slapped a fine of $100 on him.
Shia LaBeouf
The “Transformers” and “Disturbia” actor was fined $500 (`22,530.20) for smoking outside a restaurant. As if this wasn’t enough, the American actor landed in further trouble that cost him a total of $1,000 (`45,060.40) as well because he failed to show up at a court hearing, which resulted in an issue for his arrest. The arrest warrant was later dismissed.
Simon Cowell
The celebrity judge was caught on the wrong foot when he was spotted smoking on the sets of “Britain’s Got Talent”. Apparently, the big boss of “BGT” takes fag breaks during the filming of the talent show. However, this habit landed him in trouble recently when he was handed a hefty fine of around £20,000 (`1,486,220) and was faced with a complete ban on smoking during advert breaks.
Ajay Devgan
He has been a repeat offender when it comes to smoking. The first time around, he was fined in Chandigarh for smoking in public. The next time, he was spotted smoking in a courtyard of a multiplex in Panaji. A complaint was filed by the Directorate of Health Services Rajnanda Desai following which Ajay was fined `100.