Beyonce Knowles is preparing to go on the Australian leg of her ‘B’ Day’ tour or not, if anti-smoking groups have their say. The singer is under fire after an ad showing the pop diva in a glamorous pose holding a cigarette holder were shown in newspapers and billboards around the country. Queensland Cancer Fund tobacco issues coordinator Catherine Mahony said the image could encourage young women to smoke. “While it doesn’t break any laws, we’re disappointed Beyonce has tried to portray this kind of image to her Queensland audience,” Ms Mahony said. ” Beyonce was portraying smoking as “sexy and cool” in the advertisements. There are other ways she can create this image without having to use tobacco products.” “With young women, image issues usually win out over health issues and it can actually be a prompt for them to start smoking.” Australian Medical Association Queensland’s Shaun Rudd said the “thoughtless” advertisements should be scrapped. “It’s unfortunate that someone like her, who is a high-profile celebrity and role model, has cigarettes in their advertisements in this day and age. She doesn’t need to get attention like that,” Dr Rudd said. The trend for young women to take up smoking in Queensland is such a concern that the State Government recently launched a Feeling Good campaign to combat the problem.
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