A north Vancouver condo owner is taking her neighbor to the British Columbia Supreme court for smoking cigarettes on her own patio, which is located beneath the plaintiff's apartment. Maureen Nicholson claims her neighbor's 10 cigarette-a-day habit causes "toxic, noxious, carcinogenic and pungent smoke" to enter her home. She says she has asked her neighbor to stop smoking and has complained to the condominium council in the building.

Brenda Comer is crediting her smoking habit for saving her life. The 53-year-old resident of Rock Hill, South Carolina had just came out of her kitchen for a smoke break when an 80-foot long oak tree crashed through her roof landing exactly there where she had been standing few moments earlier. Recalling the Monday morning's incident to The Herald, Comer said she had just finished washing her dishes and went out for a puff when the giant tree crashed through the kitchen roof, right across the sink where she had been standing.

In a yet another effort to upgrade the city's image before the 2008 Olympic Games, authorities in Beijing have barred women cabbies to not to dye their hair red and their male counterparts from growing their hair long. The bans on the city's taxi drivers are a part wider effort by the authorities who perceive the Olympic Games as an opportunity to display splendid Chinese culture and its residents' positive attitudes. In the recent effort, authorities have listed out as many as 12 not-to-do's for the city's cabbies. These include: greeting passengers without politeness, avoid smoking, spitting, wearing heavy and jewelry and brushing teeth after eating garlic among others.

A Broward County judge, who ruled over a paternity trial last month involving Anna Nicole Smith, was caught smoking a joint in a Hollywood park Sunday. Judge Lawrence Korda, who has served on the bench since the 1970s, was caught smoking marijuana under a tree near Interstate 95. Police said the smell of cannabis, lead them to Korda.

A recent survey revealed that 25 percent of Brits believe getting cancer is decided by 'fate'. Surprisingly, smokers were 50 percent more likely to blame fate for getting cancer. The survey, involving 4,000 Britons, was conducted by the charity Cancer Research United Kingdom.