My heart does these very elaborate backflips whenever I hear a reference to EST.

That seemed brilliant. Even visionary. However, I've been emotionally and intellectually crippled by having to get out of my chair to change channels at a tender age.

I'm sorry but smoking in the presence of your children is child abuse. It just Is. I'm sorry if that upsets some people.

It's OK, NTJ. You don't really need to say you're sorry.

It is so terrible to smoke in front of children.
Of course,when those same kids turn 18 years of age,
it's wonderful to send them off to war to kill and torture
other people and to be killed themselves.
What a great country we live in!

not smoking in front of or with the children is easy, not raising them to be endlessly self-absorbed, spoiled fast-track precocity monsters is tougher. up here, the evidence is manifest in a walk to the park. don't clear the way for their two- or three-seat spawn carrier and prepare to die.

What ever happened to following K-Fed around? While Brit was at home pregnant, he was in Vegas or wherever, smoking, drinking, spending a LOT of Brit's $$. How quickly we forget and forgive the Father (that was totally not acting like a good Father and Husband). Let us all leave Brit alone.
Also, in my era of childhood , everyone smoked. You could go to see your Dr. and he would come in the exam room puffing on a smoke!!! As kids we used to go grab the butts (our Father's, Uncles, Aunts, Mom's, Grandparents) flicked on the ground and take a hit. No one had seat belts. There wasn't a drinking and driving law. As a kid I witnessed a LOT of people stumble in to their cars and drive away. Yes, we are lucky that we did get a little wiser with age and make it against the law to drink and drive. But if a person wants to smoke a cigarette (which by the way is legal) in front of their child, it is none of our business!!

my best friend and i grew up with reactive airway disease from our parents smoking in semi-ventilated (mostly not) areas constantly. as long as she's outside it's not such an issue. plus the courts only allow her around her kids for 8 minutes a month lest she strap one to the hood and leave the other in the car with the windows rolled up.

Old people suck.

Sure, Britney should be more responsible, but what do expect from white trash? Is that really the worst thing that she's going to do to her child? That's fine if you want to label it child abuse. However, if we're going to start going this far, then I want all parents held accountable for whatever their child does from 0-18. If they murder someone, mom and dad go to trial for the kid's actions. If the kid skips school, mom and dad get punished. If we're going to take this ridiculous notion of what child abuse is to new levels, then some other things are going to have to change too. I'm all for forcing parents to be parents, but let's be real here. For years parents smoked in front of kids, didn't put them in child seats until they are 42" tall, drove them in cars that didn't have airbags (I thought SUVs were so much safer, so why the kid booster seat?), let them play outside *gasp* by themselves, let them stay home alone, and didn't have video games as babysitters. Come on, let's regulate childhood some more so all of our kids can be obese, lazy, lawyer-chasing, spoiled brats.

Everyone gets a trophy!

hey money man, let's see how you feel about that in 20 years.

Child abuse is the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children. with that being said i'd like to say that you people are really reaching. are you that dissatisfied with her progress? she has done an amazing job of putting her life back in order. she is still working on it and just beacuse she smokes means absoulutley nothing. she is outside and most 2 1/2 year old are curious about everthing...so he picked up the pack and she immediately reprimanded him. find something else to talk about.

It's wrong to smoke in front of your kids! They didn't ask to be polluted by her disgusting cancer causing second hand smoke! It doesn't matter what was acceptable 20-30 years ago. (Thank god my mom had enough sense to put me in a car seat before it was a "law") They used to put cocaine in coca-cola too but we've evolved and we know better now (well most of us). Britney obviously needs to take a parenting class, didn't the court order one? I'm usually on her side and think people need to give her a break, but she would have to be living under a rock to not know smoking in front of your kids is bad for their health. If she wants to killl herself with her bad habits that's fine but how bout she does it outside while the kids are breathing smoke free indoors...just a thought!

Being exposed to someone smoking outdoors or the Lunchables and other crap kids eat today. What will kill them first? As a child of the 70's I experienced a great deal of what is referenced in the post, I am still here. Survival of the fittest.

Good thing all that recklessness was balanced out with families eating home cooked meals that did not come out of a microwave. I remember going to Pizza Hut being a big deal, I spent the day scrounging for quarters for the juke box. My kids both now how to make a perfect Margarita for Mommy and are neglected just enough to actually figure out solutions to problems in their. Oh the horror.

BTW, get off my yard.

NTJ, that wasn't me who just said something on Gawker about someone who isn't you.

Okay! Enough is enough! I think that people should just LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! I am not a die-hard Britney fan, but I think that the paparazzi needs to go f*** themselves. It would be hard to have a life with people constantly flashing their stupid cameras in your face. There are millions of people who smoke on a daily basis so why target Britney? It is not as if she lit the damn cigarette for her child. She took them away...end of story. Stop making mountains out of molehills people. Kudos to the people who agree with me.

I don't think everyone should be making such a big deal about Britney smoking; she snatched the cigarettes AWAY from her child which shows that she probably doesn't want him to get into them.

Most people are making it seem like she lit up a butt and handed it to him to start smoking. I agree that it probably wasn't very smart to leave the cigarettes near her kid, but we all make stupid mistakes.

come on folks the kid picked up a pack of cigs like yours didnt do it once shit happens lay off the girl now your nik picking if the kid was smoking it then hey but he probably picked up a roll of toilet paper too

The issue as I see it, bobbitchen--may I call you 'bitchen'?--is whether or not the child understood which hole to use these respective objects in.

Discuss.

give her a brake ,we all Know she has faded away already you don't need to help her.

Give me a break..It seems like they could just leave the girl alone and move on, I mean hell what is more damaging to the kids the way the paparazzi harrasses their mom or her mom taking a puff off a cigarette? It's not like they are going to be sheltered to the point they will never come in contact with it in public. How u think that kid is gona feel when he gets older and sees his pic with his mom and ppl hating on her cause she smokes. To me this is much more damaging to the child. Get a grip.....n papparazzi needs to get their own life instead of trying to destroy others..in my opinion nothing but bottom feeders would take and advertise these stupid pictures! If it was a crack pipe I could understand. Oh and doesn't Federline smoke also???

i think this world is getting a little too crazy. -- yes second hand smoke kills but i'm a 25 year old healthy person who's parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have smoked around me since i was a baby. there is nothing wrong with being a parent and having a cig if that's your preference. the child is not going to die on the spot if they breathe in second hand smoke. -- as for britney they are always going to bag on her "bad" qualities. parents can not be on top of their children 24/7 so of course the child may pick up something that their not supposed to. that's why they are KIDS, their life is to explore and get into things their not supposed to. as long as she was there to take the cig and lighter away so that the child does not get hurt who cares.

lets take a good quality from the weekend that the photo was taken: Britney was at an Autism function to help raise the awareness for Autism Research, hey look its positive.

I think that people saying its child abuse to light up in front of a child OUTSIDE.. is RIDICULOUS!!! Not saying smoking is a good thing.. I quit a while ago..but dang... adults should be able to be adults and its their choice to do what they wish.. its not like she handed her child a cig and said smoke up son. This is why so many kids now a days are complete basket cases cuz they really dont know right from wrong because their parents baby then til they head off to school and I mean college.. that is if they even LET them go..

JoeM
I take it you never were in the military by your comment.

If a person wants to smoke, it's their business!! However, I think it's wrong to smoke in front of a child (who, I might add, is very impressionable.) Children tend to wanna copy their parents and they WILL eventually try to smoke a cigarette...if not yours, they'll grap a cig from a friend. I've noticed that the majority of child and teenage smokers have (or had) parents that smoked. I know this to be a fact. My father smoked 24/7, blowing smoke in my face, etc. By the time I was a sophmore in high school I was a fulltime smoker and haven't quit since. The sad thing about all this is that smoking is ADDICTIVE and once you start it's very hard to quit. Sooo...if you have kids, please don't smoke around them. You're not setting a very good example.

Thank you tammy4sure...you hit on a couple of key points of mine (crackpipe, Federline smoking). Like someone else said, kids that age get their hands on everything....they're CURIOUS! They're just as curious about that wine glass or beer bottle that some of you don't think twice about flashing in front of their faces. But hey...as long as you reprimand them if they grab for it...then you're doing what you're supposed to be doing.

And it looks like Brit is outside smoking, with the door ajar. Sean probably wandered outside (curious, again). If she would have shut the door and he would have hurt himself, then we would have crucified her for not watching him. If he was vegged out in front of the tv, then we would have called her an unfit mother, too. She handled the situation....let it go.

The problem here is with all the judgmental, hypocritical people who are actually calling this child abuse. Really?? Ask my half-sister who was sexually abused for years by her father if she would consider this child abuse. I'm sure she would have much rather endured the horrible action of walking on to the balcony while her mother smoked a cigarette instead of going through what she did.

When you through around the words like "child abuse" so easily and freely, you are desensitizing people to the true horrors of child abuse. Think twice before you do such a thing is all I'm saying...

Ok -- first and foremost -- if you had survived the 70's fine -- you would not be defending inappropriate behavior -- you would realize how wrong it was to do all of those things -- second to smoke in front of any child is WRONG!!! -- but to expose a child to secondhand smoke is REALLY WRONG!!! -- would we allow a babysitter to get away with this type of behavior -- NO -- he/she would have been excused -- and basically Britney is a babysitter to her children -- she sees them like three hours a week -- if she can not be in control of the environment and what they are exposed to in three hours -- then she is not fit to be a full-time parent -- besides the fact that the area is not secure that paps can view and photograph the child is alarming -- notice that there are no pictures of Federline and the children -- he probably has secured his living space -- plus Britney's house seems not to be child-friendly -- there is a glass table? -- candles? -- without reiterating the fact that there is a dish with lighters and cigerettes on the table? -- within a child's reach -- plus what about the exposed extension cord on the floor -- the child could EASILY trip over it -- smashing into a marble floor? -- it seems that there are too many things WRONG here!!!

Ok -- first and foremost -- if you had survived the 70's fine -- you would not be defending inappropriate behavior -- you would realize how wrong it was to do all of those things -- second to smoke in front of any child is WRONG!!! -- but to expose a child to secondhand smoke is REALLY WRONG!!! -- would we allow a babysitter to get away with this type of behavior -- NO -- he/she would have been excused -- and basically Britney is a babysitter to her children -- she sees them like three hours a week -- if she can not be in control of the environment and what they are exposed to in three hours -- then she is not fit to be a full-time parent -- besides the fact that the area is not secure that paps can view and photograph the child is alarming -- notice that there are no pictures of Federline and the children -- he probably has secured his living space -- plus Britney's house seems not to be child-friendly -- there is a glass table? -- candles? -- without reiterating the fact that there is a dish with lighters and cigerettes on the table? -- within a child's reach -- plus what about the exposed extension cord on the floor -- the child could EASILY trip over it -- smashing into a marble floor? -- it seems that there are too many things WRONG here!!!

honestly everyone who smokes and has kids, smokes in front of them. almost everyone in my family smokes. honestly i think its disgusting but i dont think it is a freekin terrible thing to smoke in front of your kids ; and i deffinetly dont find it redickyoulus when people leave their ciggarettes in their ashtray may i add in reach of their child. i mean as long as you watch your kids there should be no problem, and britney evedentally was because she snatched up her ciggarettes before sean preston could get them. and as for "debbie299" i honestly dont think a two year old is going to look at his mother and say oh hey mommy smokes so i do too. seriously get real ! i have three neices and can say that they have all three gotten into their mothers ciggarettes ; kids get into everything and to " tammy4sure" you are exactly right !
i am seventeen years old and have very bad asthma and my parents still smoke in front of me and it does not affect me at all. so to all you people saying its harshh its really not. get a life of your own and stop prying in on hers.

I am sorry -- truly I am -- that your parents continue to smoke around you despite the fact that you have a serious asthma condition -- not ALL parents are insensitive to their children's plight -- when a person has a child their focus changes -- the needs of the children come first -- but in regards to Britney -- she seems callous to the physical, emotional, and psychological development of her children -- folks childhood is SACRED!!! -- parents try to preserve it for as long as possible -- sadly Britney's children have been denied this -- parenting is about nurturing souls -- not defending your behavior as right -- it is about doing what's right for the sake of your children

This is absolutely ridiculous. I'm gonna join the side that says to leave the poor girl alone. My daughter is 1 1/2...... I don't smoke around her at all from personal choice, but I really don't look at this as child abuse.... That is REALLY reaching...... She's OUTSIDE..... how much more ventilated can you get? My parents smoked in the house and in the car throughout my entire childhood and my siblings and I are healthy successful adults. I may smoke, but that was my decision and I am the only 1 out of 4 that does. I see parents in public walking around CARRYING their BABIES with a cig hanging out of their mouth.... That does make me sick, but Britney's being RESPONSIBLE for once and even holding it away from her child. Come on, people! Do we really want to see that the poor girl killed herself because AMERICA scrutinizes her so bad that she can't do ANYTHING right? Being a single mother is hard enough without the constant surveillance and judgment. How bout we complain when the kid picks up a crackpipe, not cigs. This is just too far. And as for him picking them up? My daughter climbs on the couch and gets into my purse and pulls mine out all the time. I immediately take them from her and she gets reprimanded for getting into my purse to begin with..... But I'm not in the public eye..... Thank God for that

emma, I hope you don't have kids........ From the sounds of it ur so overprotective they'll end up being the pail geeky kids who get sick from everything because they're exposed to NOTHING. The glass table? It doesn't even have sharp corners! My dad has glass coffee tables and end tables and that does not stop me from taking my daughter there...... You have no clue.... Seriously, it's people like you who make mothers today so paranoid about what other people think that they're afraid to even discipline their children in public (which is NECESSARY) from dirty looks and unnecessary comments. Wake up man.....

Haha Tammy.... Didn't see the crack pipe in ur comment before I posted mine.... Great minds must think alike!

Smoking is one of the worst habits to do around children. The fact that she is putting herself at risk for cancer in many places including those not held in place with her bra.
The children do not need a mother who is giving them breathing issues and putting them at risk.
To those who don't get why smoking is bad for you then maybe you should continue down the path your going.
Just imagine if you just discovered cigarettes and you today went to market them. The person could say I have just invented a drug that will be addictive and cause cancer and kill thousand in the US every year. Some of the lucky smokers will loose lungs, breast, and testicles or just get their larynx cut out. These will be the lucky ones as the others the removal will not save their lives and they will die a painful slow death or just have an increase chance of a heart attack.
Some poverty smokers will spend an average of 3.5 dollars per pack and smoke two packs + per day while their children don't have the proper clothes, food or health care.
Yep, smoke sure is Joe Cool and people could never walk a mile for one since they would be out of breath.

Britney wise up and buy underwear and a bra and give up the cancer sticks.

Regards,
Concerned!

Smoking is one of the worst habits to do around children. The fact that she is butting herself at risk for cancer in many places including those not held in place with her bra.
The children do not need a mother who is giving them breathing issues and putting them at risk.
To those who don't get why smoking is bad for you then maybe you should continue down the path your going.
Just imagine if you just discovered cigarettes and you today went to market them. The person could say I have just invented a drug that will be addictive and cause cancer and kill thousand in the US every year. Some of the lucky smokers will loose lungs, breast, and testicles and get their larynx cut out. These will be the lucky ones as the others the removal will not save their lives.
Some poverty smokers will spend an average of 3.5 dollars per pack and smoke two packs + per day while their children don't have the proper clothes, food or health care.
Yep, smoke sure is Joe Cool and people could never walk a mile for one since they would be out of breath.

Britney wise up and buy underwear and a bra and give up the cancer sticks.

Smoker guy: Those of us who smoke are aware of the information you just posted. But that has nothing to do with the issue at hand. Try again by telling us how her smoking outside a few feet away from her child is so horrible when I can't walk down the street without walking within 2 feet of a smoker..... Then your point may have some kind of validity. No one's defending smoking, we're just saying that Britney didn't do anything wrong.

How the hell are the little bastards going to learn to play with matches if their parents DON'T smoke?

Hopefully the Government will snatch the child away from this life of torture and abuse and give it to one of those nice fuzzy-warm religious cults living in a bunker to raise properly.

Sheesh!

What if Britney had been out on the porch with a barbeque going? A study by the French environmental campaigning group Robin des Bois found that a typical two-hour barbecue can release the same level of dioxins as up to 220,000 cigarettes.

Somehow I doubt there'd be screams of outrage from the NY Post or anywhere else about a BBQ party.

What if she took her child for a drive? With the car's tailpipe and others on the road each spewing thousands of cigarettes' worth of poisons and cancers into the air swirling around and by and into her babe's little lungs? Screams of protest anywhere? Even any mewlings of discontent?

The antismoking extremists are simply, literally, insane; and they have been made that way by a media that takes the twisted facts and studies aimed at demonizing smokers and reporting them as reality rather than as nonsense.

Should Britney sit in a closed up TV room with her child and smoke for 10 hours a day? That's not what I'm saying of course, but you can bet that some following poster would try to twist my words into that if I hadn't written this.

The propaganda and hate that has been whipped up by the antismoking lobby is more sickening than virtually any amount of tobacco smoke would ever be.

Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"

Hmmm...not sure what to add since I didn't read most of the ol' back and forth (uh...smoking's bad?) To reference the above article though, I will add that it is FUCKING GREAT!!!

Mom crashing the station wagon, smoke likely in hand, is a memory I'll never shake, but in the end we just sort of freaked, laughed and continued the snowy drive to school.

As a BIG CHILDLESS FAG, I'm qualified to say that the writing is on the wall (in crayon) unless the parents of today give their little, privileged retards some fucking discipline and responsibility (Look it up).

The Post has been untenable if not outright criminal for years. This picture happens all over the world a million times every day, and if you're raising kids, you definitely bigger problems than Britney Spears with a cigarette. Go fix one.

Very well said Michael..... Kudos

worst 1.............it could hardly have been said better than your post!! MANY of today's parents should have been sterilized before breeding the weak,sloven,stupid,disrespectful,selfish kids they claim to be "raising". As you so astutely noted they should spend much more time "fixing" their own lousy kids than worrying about Britney and hers.

omg... Noquarter - good post and kudos to Michael, too!

Sorry, vicious anti-smoking advocates, I've done enough reading from your opposition about the flawed science behind second hand smoke... and smoking in general...

No, I don't smoke in front of my kids in a closed room, but I will smoke as I please elsewhere and will thumb my nose at anyone who denies me that right (while 75% of you gobble down enough junk food to render you obese).

http://www.journaloftheoretics.com/Editorials/Vol-1/e1-4.htm

http://www.lcolby.com/index.html

... and, yes... my username was chosen with tongue firmly in cheek (and cigarette securely nestled between my lips).

I agree with you too Michael. You are right on the money

And that moneycashho - All I can say to that comment is what goes around comes around - and in your case, it probably will come (Old Age) faster than you think!

You know what, I couldn't have said it better worst1. Thanks for tellin it like it is!

"The antismoking extremists are simply, literally, insane; and they have been made that way by a media that takes the twisted facts and studies aimed at demonizing smokers and reporting them as reality rather than as nonsense."

RIGHT ON!

ALL OF YOU NON SMOKING ADVOCATES CAN JUST BACK OFF!

QUIT TWISTING THE FACTS. DIESEL EXHAUST PUTS OUT MORE PARTICULATES AND CARCINOGENS THAN CIGARETTE SMOKE, AND WE STILL ALLOW DIESEL ON THE PLANET, AND AROUND OUR KIDS.

IF A PERSON IS SMOKING OUTSIDE, THERE IS NO ISSUE. I'M A SMOKER. THE GIRL DID FINE!!! SHE WAS OUTSIDE. THE CHILD WAS NOT THERE AT FIRST. WHEN THE CHILD CAME IN, SHE REMOVED HER CIGARETTES AND LIGHTER, AND USED IT (AS MOST PARENTS WOULD) AS A TEACHING MOMENT TO LEAVE THEM ALONE. SHE DID NOT WAVE THE LIT CIGARETTE IN HIS FACE, NOR DID SHE EXHALE AROUND HIM.

BTW, CIGARETTE SMOKE IS NOT AN ALLERGEN...YOU CAN'T BE ALLERGIC.

BTF OFF!!!!!

Last I saw Kevin Federline, the supposed "great" parent smokes, has friends over to his house for parties, Im sure they smoke in the house!! All I see here is Britney smoking a cigarette and doing the right thing by smoking outside and then she also did what was right again by taking the cigarettes away. Smoking IS NOT CHILD ABUSE. I am a smoker. I smoke in my bedroom away from my kids, however sometimes they actually enter my room. OMG arrest me now. I actually discipline and punish my children for the bad things they do probably unlike you self-righteous hypocrites that think you are such great parents because you dont smoke. I bet you let your kids run amok, throw temper tantrums and you never lay a finger on them for discipline because in your eyes discipline is abuse as well. GET A LIFE. Britney should not be demonized because she smokes. There are plenty of parents that are not famous and not photographed while they are smoking. My children are just fine and they know not to start smoking because I have discussed it with them, that it is so hard to quit and it is a gross habit. BUT IT IS SO FAR FROM CHILD ABUSE. CHILD ABUSE IS NEGLECT, PHYSICAL ABUSE (BRUISES ON CHILD), AND SEXUAL. IT IS NOT SMOKING IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILDREN. All you self-righteous people are pathetic. Leave the poor girl alone.

Ok, this is just getting way out of hand with everybody hating on her for her parenting. I was out last night and a friend of mine was smoking a ciggarette with her son in her arms! My mother smoked in font of me my whole up bringing. And I'm perfectly fine. WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL. I watched a girl light up a joint with her kid in the back seat of her car! At least Britney's straightening up a little bit. Everybody needs to take a damn chill pill and leave her alone. I bet if she spanked her kid you people would try to put her in jail for child abuse too. How about everyone go find those people who actually do abuse there children. She's not putting the ciggarette out on him. She's not blowing the smoke in his face. So people just need to back off of her.

To begin with, you bleeding heart liberals, it is and always will be wrong to smoke, at all. Let alone parents smoking in front of their children. Children are very impressionable. What becomes of children has very much to do with parent's habits. Plus the absolute fact that children being around parents who smoke give their children susceptibilies to all upper respiratory infections. Like ear, bronchitis, bronchial pnuemonia and Lobar pnuemonia. Smoking is one of the most filthy addicted habits that exist. It also kills innocence people.

Who on tis green planet really gives a rats ass about this story, my God in time, people have nothing better to do with there lives than to worry about what somebody who has a little fame is doing....my suggestion is to get a damn life people, find something to do, go watch the grass grow, geez. BTW, people smoke in front of thier kids everyday and I do myself.......enough of the smoke thing...if people as myself chooe to smoke and take the chance of killing ourselves with it, then leave us the hell alone and kiss off, and the 2nd hand smoke thing...please, give me a break. You got people out here with guns shooting people and you all worrying about smoking......Get a grip !!!!!!

Re: John Q, Emma, etc. Do you have any idea what you're neighbors are doing while you take out leisure time to frivolously document you're feelings concerning previously documented ills? I thought not!
You should be concerning yourselves with late night calls to the child protection agency, local police departments and IRS! Those are the duties you are burdened with as self appointed policers in you're own communities!
Were you're neighborhood children (all) wearing the proper SPF today? Did the new mother across the street use dye free baby soap? Does EVERY parent int the hood know how to properly use a child safety seat? These things cannot be ignored! I am ashamed and yes, disappointed at your outright abandonment of the villagers which so desperately rely upon the superior parenting skills and knowledge you possess. How is the village to proceed while you lounge in front of the PC?
Until we can manage a system which properly governs our every move within our homes, you're neighbors need you! Now, get you're dumb ass's back to work, and do not let me catch you indulging in this manner again!
Now, on a lighter note, see you kids at the DNC! You're leader, Hillary!

"How the hell are the little bastards going to learn to play with matches if their parents DON'T smoke?" - SarahHeartburn

This.

Thank you. :)

This is the most pointless story I have ever seen in my life. Who really gives a shit about her or her children. You know good and well when they are old enough to smoke, they will be burning them down constantly. I love cigs and my seven year olds do also. We wake up every morning and light one up. I have coffee, they have apple juice. They are actually on suspension from school right now for selling blow. I am proud to say that my wife is the best hooker in town, and she loves cigs also.

"It also kills innocence people."- John Q.

I think Amercian culture in general does a much better job of that than cigarettes in specific.

By the way, you do realize that both white trash and liberal have been invoked in this thread, right? Explain to me how it's worked around that liberals = white trash. I find that one particularly amusing.

Oh, and on one final note- Considering the general gist of this thread has been whether or not it's a good idea to coddle kids throughout their childhood because maybe this might make them contemptuous, disagreeable adults incapable of finding a middle ground with someone on the opposite side of an issue- well.. um.. I think we *might* already have that particular answer.

I find it rather funny that so many people feel the need to criticize someone's parenting tactics considering you're probably neglecting your own children for the few minutes you're ranting a raving on here about Britney Spears! Also, she's not the only damn parent who smokes near her children. He's 2 1/2 years old... give me a break! He's a curious child who picks up anything from a bug to pushing his fisher price table around. It's what children do. So she left her cigarettes on HER table... she quickly took them away from him so back off! I also agree that Hmmm Father of the Year, K-Fed is a chain smoker and enjoys the company of his SMOKER friends... why don't you have pictures of HIM! Lastly, I don't doubt that smoking is bad, Im a smoker my self and know that it's crucial to my health to stop, but I'd be more concerned that the paps outside her house are invading her privacy as well as doing far from glorifying her efforts to get better, and now deeming her a MURDERER?????? How bout you leave her children alone so they can lead a life that all of you believe she should be leading...

What should be of MUCH greater concern is the lack of privacy indicated by the creeps who took these pictures. These alleged photographers are really no more than perverts who should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law! If a stranger crept up to OUR kitchen window and began taking photos of our children, we would prosecute them and have them branded sexual deviants for the rest of their lives. WHY isn't the Los Angeles police department arresting these scum? Why is the New York Post allowed to publish these pictures without the mothers permission? This goes WAY beyond the right of the press to pursue celebrities ... there are children involved that have a much greater exposure to pain and trauma from these freaks than an occational cigarette smoked by their mother. By the way, I am no big Britney fan ... the antics of the press just disgust me. If Edward R. Murrow were alive, he would never stop throwing up over what the media has become.

OMFG....My Parents smoked and Im OK...OK, They are DEAD but Im OK, My best Friend smoked, He's dead but Im OK...My grandpa smoked but I'm OK, Oh yeh he's dead too..... and they would still be around for many more years if they did not smoke but yeah I'm great.........They all died horrible painful agonizing deaths full of tubes and morphine while cancer rotted there bodies, wishing they did not ever smoke...I even got the bonus of watching my Mom have her lungs drained with a HUGE needle through her back 4 times so she could come back to say bye to everyone before I got to pull the proverbial plug and let her Die/drown in her own lung juices... which takes about 4 slow days if your interested...Hey but I'm greeeaaatttt......Go light one up Smokers!!!

I do have to say that I don't like Britney Spears and frankly I wish she would of never made it into the pop scene. However you do have to realize that people are not perfect even if they are famous. So what if she smoke one cig in front of her kids. Do you realize that the emmisions from your vehicles and your garbage and the tainted water that you let them drink is probably doing the same amount of damge if not more to you child. These people have no privacy and live under a microscope and yet you continue to belittle them every time you get a chance because you have nothing better to do with you lives. Im a mom, I get it, I also smoke and while I may chose not to expose my child to harmful things as much as possible they still have to be exposed otherwise they won't understand or their immune systems will fail miserably when they do get exposure. In this picture I see a mom, a human being just the same as you, teaching her child what not to do.

This is a bunch of bullsh*t. I can understand not smoking indoors with your children present, but outside....give me a break. I am just so sick and tired of the rights of smokers being violated. It's bad enough that smokers can no longer smoke in restaurants, clubs and other public buildings, but now they are banning it in parks and other outdoor areas....tell me this is not wrong, and I will tell you just where to go. Of course I know the dangers of smoking and breathing second hand smoke, but you all are going overboard. I am a smoker, and respect others who are not, but when are you all going to get off our backs??? Seems to me that you people are the ones that are teaching our children that only some of us have rights...way to go parents...go ahead and set that good example. GET A LIFE MOMS AND DADS!!

OH....one more thing, you all really need to stop judging others and their parenting skills just because they're smokers. At least Brit is smoking outside.

SMOKING IN FRONT OR NEAR KIDS BAD. DRINKING ALCOHOL NOT. HOWIS THAT? SECOND HAND SMOKE MAY CAUSE ILLNESS AND DISCOMFORT TO OTHERS BUT ALCOHOL DOES NOT? HOW HYPOCRITICAL IS THAT YOU CAN GET SLOSHED IN FRONT OF THE LITTLE DEARS BUT NOT HAVE A SMOKE. ALCOHOL CAN CAUSE IMMEDIATED SECOND HAND INJURY AND DEATH. GIVE ME A BREAK!!

sum ppl are just too dramatic... my mom smoked untill i was like six i do not have lung cancer... and i did no smoke.... back off ppl... let her smoke if she wants to... so many parents do worse things to their kids and ppl are goin balistic over her smoking!!!!
get real... all the smokers up here are gonna tell me u dont smoke in front of ur kids!!!! do u not drink in front of ur kids... oh and how many kids in this world have walked up on theyr parents doing it... it doesnt mean ur 7 year old will go off having sex.... so give it a brake!!!!

puleezeeeeeeeeeeeee when are we going to wake up and stop demonizing smokers. what about all the alcoholics in today's society, including the young set and the baby boomers. my husband and I both smoked and our adult son never even tried it. we know other couples with similar situations. we are just the latest group for society to trash, i guess the gays are "in" today and the smokers are the new parasites for people to take their crap out on and their mightier than thou attitudes. I see parents asking their kids if it's okay to leave the park, and other ridiculous things, like the kid is running the show. i have relatives who can't even hold a telephone conversation while their kids are in the same room because they are demanding their undivided attention, they're bored, etc. etc. etc. in some ways i miss the 50's -- not that they were perfect, far from it. but we were left to our own devices and learned how to deal with boredom, how to be creative, how to fend for ourselves, how to enjoy playing outside (no such thing as video games). unfortunately, these yuppie brats took over my old beautiful brooklyn neighborhood which is unrecognizeable. they do not thank you for holding a door open for them, they are rude, selfish and undoubtedly, their parents are paying their ridiculously high rents. how else do you explain all these young people around all day long, shouldn't they be out working???? so please, think twice before condeming someone who smokes. we are not animals, criminals, misfits. we just happen to like to smoke. we'll deal with the consequences. MIND YOUR DAMN BUSINESS.

All you idiots out there who buy the government propaganda on second hand smoke deserve to be shot!! There is more dangerous chemicals sitting in rush hour traffic or on a busy city street than from 30 cigs indoors or OUTDOORS!!! Last time I looked the was the USA and what she does with a LEGAL substance is HER business!

Give me a freakin break. Big deal so what she is smoking in front of her kids. You see that all the time from non-public figures. It's not as if she is in an enclosed enviroment. Why don't you people stop throwing stones. Jeeezzzzz!!!!!!

U idiots give britanny a fking break my god like if smokein a LEGAL tobacco cigarette in front of ur children is so bad.They only show the picture of the kids wit a lighter and grabin a cigarette and britanny lookin at him.They make it look big but no1 ever says oh maybe she was warning him to not touch that,no.Every1 thinks the worst becuz of issues in the past.K-Fed is a son of the bitch and he still gets his kids.I bet he smokes in front of them but no1 cares.We used to take turns on who to get dirt on.Spears,Fed,Spears and then we got lost wit spears and never went back to k-fed tabliods do me a favor and shut the fuck up

You people act like she is smoking crack or pot! It's a cigarette and it looks like she's outside!! What is the problem??? She isn't abusing her children by having a smoke. Whoever said that is a moron. So what if there is a cigarette pack laying there? How is that hurting the child? She took it away. People today are so freaking paranoid about everything. She isn't beating the child or doing drugs. The kids are fine. Get a life.

Ok seriously? No one has anything better to do but sit and critique Britney's parenting? Get off your butt and go parent your own child! No one has the right to critique anybodys parenting skill because im sure everyone has screwed up more than a few times!

hello?! she is outside..... O U T S I D E!!!! some people will accuse others of the littlest things to make themselves feel better. so what if shes smoking a cig!.... like anyones better ? whoever took that picture of her in the first place and put it online is an ass

Are peoples lives really that boring they have to monitor Britney Spears life? How is it you perfect non smoking people are so concerned about her cigarette smoke(she is outside) but still drive your polluntant SUV's around?Is it child abuse to have you child in your car ,stuck in traffic with exhaust fumes.It is amazing to me you all concern yourself with such petty bullshit, and are not concerned about the invasion of privacy this picture clearly shows.Have we forgotten what the paparrazi did to Princess Diana, or is that overlooked, just to give you people your celebrity gossip? Live your life the way you want, This is America, Stay the hell out of everyone else's. Now it is time for a smoke!!!!!

HOW ABOUT YOU LEAVE HER ALONE AND MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS.. WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN CHILDREN!!

HOW ABOUT YOU LEAVE HER ALONE AND MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS.. WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN CHILDREN!!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't there people doing much worse things in front of their kids and not making headlines? There was a woman arrested about 6 months ago here in NY (Saratoga) that was snorting lines of cocaine off her infants stomach while her 5 year old sat in the back seat of the car! Hmmm holy shit that didn't make the NY Post as a MONSTER! Please enough with what Britney is doing, she's not a model parent we all know that, but for Christ sake she certainly isn't the worst! The Post and other rag tabloids should really focus on the "true MONSTERS" in society.

LOOK HERE U STUPIED ASS PEOPLE THAT WANTS TO TALK SHIT ABOUT OTHERS. WELL LETS SAY BRITNEY DIDNT TURN OUT THE WAY EVERYONE WANTED HER TO,OK. SO FREAKING WHAT, ARE YALL THAT FREAKING JELOUSE OVER HER BECAUSE UR NOT HER OR NOT WITH HER? GET OVER URSELF. OG I JUST THOUGHT OF SOETHING IM SMOKEN RIGHT NOW IN MY OWN HOME WITH MY KIDS SITTING IN THE SAME ROOM, WELL IM ABOUT DONE HERE FOR NOW NOW I'VE GOT TO ROLL ONE UP AND SMOKE IT TO AND THEN SMOKE ANOTHER.... OMG IM SUCH A BAD PARENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AREN'T I? I MEAN I AM SMOKEN IN FRONT OF MY KIDS. OH AND BETTER MY 4 YEAR OLD BRINGS ME MY CIGGS & MY OTHER STUFF..... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

DON'T WORRY BRITNEY I GOTTCHA BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

omg. r u serious? everyone's freaking out about britany smoking in front of her kids OUTSIDE where there's fresh air, but to people even think enough to realize that parents smoke EVERYDAY in front of their kids INSIDE! and the only reason that they're not scolded for it is because they're not famous. and she took the box away from her kid, tons of parents wouldn't do that, so give her some points. and seriously leave the poor girl, i may not be a brittany fan, but at least i can see that she is turning her life around and attempting to get her life back on track, and all that stress probably doesn't help her problem. so would everyone please stop trying to find things that are wrong in her life and just leave the poor girl alone!

I grew in the 70's, born in '71. All the women in the family smoked inside and they hated it when I complained about the smell. When I turned 14, and started smoking, they were so happy that I was one of them now, and wouldn't complain anymore. At that time, '85 it was still kind of a rite of passage to start smoking, like getting your period, they thought it was a stepping stone to becoming an adult. Different times...
Today it's considered to be so bad and gross and embarrassing to smoke, cause it is, and I would never touch a cig if I grew up now, so I'm always surprised why kids today start smoking.

Quick question: how many of you drink coffee around your children? You do know caffeine is just as addictive as nicotine?
Have your kids ever been near a car with the engine running? I'm guessing they have. Isn't that more toxic?
So, cigs are responsible for all the cancer in the world, right?! But all the nuclear plants are oh so good for us? Let's face it... you want your kid to have healthy lungs?! You picked the wrong planet!
It's easy to point the finger at smokers... but i wonder why nobody seems to notice the pink elephant in the room. People have been smoking for hundreds of years... how bizarre that they should only start getting cancer from cigarettes (apparently) in the most industrialized century.
So the next time you point at me for smoking and fucking up your lungs... please remember to wave at the nuclear plant on your way home.

It is wrong for any parent to smoke around a child. Doing so is teaching the child a bad and unhealthy habit. It aggravates me too when parents smoke in front of a child then tell them not to smoke. A child learns enough bad things from peers, etc. and doesn't need to learn them from parents.

Although this article is pretty funny, it completely disregards the consequences of all the supposedly harmless things our parents did. Sure people used to smoke in front of their kids but they were probably ignorant to the affect and now that we know that is it harmful we would be irresponsible to continue to do it. There are plenty of other ways to toughen up your child than smoking in front of them, letting them drink at age 11 and allowing them to raise themselves.

wow i can't even believe this is an issue. when i saw the headline i thought she must be smoking something hardcore. you've got to be kidding me, it must have been a slow newsday. honestly the new york post and radar magazine have no crediblity if this is what they bother to print. i think brittney ought to move to france. america is becoming decidedly third reichish. i found it shocking alright, shocking that anyone would even bother. shame on the new york times and on radar, you're pathetic and you don't deserve to even be thought of as "press". when marilyn monroe died joe dimaggio said that hollywood killed her. i really hope y'all dont do the same to brittney. what a bunch of misguided assholes.

I think that people are making a great big fuss out of nothing! The only reason that people are even putting this pic on the internet is because she is a celebrity. What about the millions and millions of people who are not celebrity's that smoke around their children?

I think that people are making a great big fuss out of nothing! The only reason that people are even putting this pic on the internet is because she is a celebrity. What about the millions and millions of people who are not celebrity's that smoke around their children? Why dont we see their pics on the internet and the hateful comments that are attached with this one. I can remember as a child sitting on my fathers lap while he smoked a cig. Oh and wait it gets worst! For entertainment he use to blow the o rings made out of smoke for us...what a monster!!! NOOOO he is the greatest dad out there in my opinion..and just because he smoked did not make him any less of a great father.
People need to leave Britney alone and find something else worth worrying about. How about the oil problem, the economy, or even the up coming election. I guess they will all have to take a backseat right now...because Britney decided to light up a cig OUTSIDE while her child was there.

I really find it amazing when I hear people addicted to butts in their mouth to obtain nicotine and carcinogens around their kids. So when one smokes in a separate room do you wander how your air conditioner recycles the smoke?
How come smoker's cars have that really nasty yellow tar build up that is so great it makes the headliners in the car drop as it eats away at the glue holding the headliner in place? How about those responsible losers that crack their window one inch as they smoke and it funnels the fumes to the back seat for their infant to get an early smoke before daycare...

Do you know or care that many SIDS cases where the child stop breathing in their crib is traced back to their ability to breath in a smoker's house.

We know some feel its their god given right to smoke and they are surprised its not one of the amendments next to the right to bear arms but its not and quit making yourself feel good by searching for something else that cause early death for people. One mentioned obesity and I agree that the US is lazy and overweight and those overweight slobs gets special handicap stickers and the battery operated carts to haul their fat buts to the grocery to get more food to suck down and never exercise. They are just as bad as the person who sucks on a butt and is addicted to smoking. We all know smoking kills and causes cancer but don't push this addiction on your kids with second hand smoke. The person comparing exhaust fumes to smoking should try putting their mouth over the exhaust and inhaling deeply as it has similar carcinogens to smoking.

Did you see back in 2006 how "Anti-tobacco forces are opening a new front in the war against smoking by banning it in private places such as homes and cars when children are present?
Starting Jan. 1, Texas will restrict smoking in foster parents' homes at all times and in cars when children are present, says Darrell Azar of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Vermont, Washington and other states and counties already prohibit foster parents from smoking around children in their homes and cars.

Arkansas and Louisiana passed laws this year forbidding anyone from smoking in cars carrying young children. Courts are ordering smoke-free environments in custody and visitation disputes.

"We are very rapidly moving to protect children from secondhand smoke," says John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health. "Even from their own parents and grandparents."

Former surgeon general Richard Carmona said in June that children exposed to secondhand smoke suffer an increased risk of respiratory ailments and sudden infant death syndrome.

Most smoking bans apply to workplaces and spots like bars and restaurants.

Smokers' rights groups liken banning smoking in private to the "Salem witch hunt," says Gary Nolan, spokesman for The Smoker's Club, Inc. He says secondhand smoke is not dangerous. "If we don't reverse this, they'll be telling us what we can eat and what we can feed our children," Nolan says.

Former smoker Bob Mathis, a Democratic state representative in Arkansas, sponsored a law that bars smoking in a car carrying a child young enough to require a car seat. It took effect in July. A violator can be fined $25 but can get out of it with proof of participation in a smoking-cessation program. A similar law took effect in Louisiana in August.

"We have laws on the books in every state of the union against child abuse," Mathis says. "This is a form of child abuse."

At least six states and some counties prohibit foster parents from smoking when foster children are present, says Kathleen Dachille, director of the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation & Advocacy at the University of Maryland School of Law. "There are times when it's appropriate to regulate what people can do in their home," she says. "The state is responsible for that child."

Some courts are ordering parents in custody and visitation disputes not to smoke around their kids.

Initially, courts considered restrictions when children had ailments such as asthma that are exacerbated by smoke, says Linda Elrod, a law professor and editor of Family Law Quarterly. Now, they're more willing to restrict smoking even when there are no obvious health problems, she says. It generally comes up when one parent complains about the other's smoking."

Smoking is a bad habit that needs not be defended by people who are addicted and are weak. The reason they wine and complain so much about smoking because they possibly learned it probably from their parents who smoked in front of them and damaged their lungs at an early age. How about taking a stance and changing your kid's future by not smoking in front of them.

Smoking is not cool or healthy and is for losers who just don't get it.

To tie smoking to the right to bear arms maybe one can put a Colt 45 with one bullet next to your pack of butts and spin the barely each time and put the gun to your head and pull the trigger before lighting the butt up. This way it can speed up the process of your addiction. Each will get to the same place at the mortuary but one will be a little faster.

you know what, i'm sick and tired of people makin a big deal out of someone smoking a cigarette.. yeah, it's bad for you, but it doesn't give you a buzz like pot, you can drive safely while smoking unlike alcohol, as long as it's not being blown in your face, then GET OVER IT!!!

I would be more upset if the picture was of britney smoking around ger child inside of her house... THEY WERE OUTSIDE!!! the air is so polluted anyway, and the smoke probably didn't even come near her son!!!

I agree that the present generation is pampered in a way that previous generations never were (although technically you can say that about every generation) but some things like not smoking in front of your kids isn't about coddling it's about not exposing them to well recognized dangers.

Its completelt true that most articles are biased against Britney Spears. Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband admit (almost too proudly) that they smoke and even that their son (age 5) might grow up to be one too. The point is that if Britney gets her life together than who will Americans read about if they want to feel better about themselves?

This is dumb. If she decides to smoke infront of her kids. okay whatever. Atleast she doesn't smoke in a closed area with her kids. Atleast she's not abusing them or anything in that range. Everyone in this world judges people because of what they do, how they dress, the way there hair is, is there fat or skinny, etc. Everyone needs to stop being babys and judging people just because they smoke or party. I bet 98% of people go home when they get off of work and light up a cig or go out and drink with there friends.

I had two parents who smoked. I suffer from asthma and now live on disability because of my allergy to perfume products. My brother died of cancer from smoking, as did my Grandfather. That doe not include a kid I grew up with who died of second hand smoke lung cancer . So I hope she gets her right to see her kids taken away from her again.

I have children who have asthma. I really don't like that people smoke in front of their kids if they can get sick from it, but I don't think it's a crime. You people who write things and criticize others nit pick over the dumbest things. Everyone who has kids and has bad habits learns by trial and error what to do and what not to do around them. I'm sure she found out quick that her child can take things that that her child shouldn't. It's a shame she has no privacy to learn it without criticism and the whole public behind it. I would go nuts too if I had to deal with all that. Who wouldn't?

see what I don't understand is people do stuff like this every day ... smoke around or in front kids ... only because its Brittney .. we make it such a big deal and we lower our self's into calling her bad names .. we don't know a thing about this women ! all we know is the junk that the paparazzi is feeding to us.for all we know after he took the picture of her being the bad mom.. she could have took the sig's and lighter away from the baby and explained how bad it is to smoke and told him to go play and she could have smoked her sig.. but in stead of bringing her up we continue to push her down ...put your self in her shoes .. everything she dose now in days isn't right .. must we criticize her in everything after all she is only human.. and im not just saying this about Britt we do this to every one with money but mostly britt because she is the weakest link right now . and we wonder why people turn into crazy people ..we all make mistakes ! and if you say you don't your a lie !

BLEEDING HEART LIBERALS LIKE; SMOKERSRLOOSERS, NEWTOJEZEBEL, KARENUHOH, JIL08: NEED TO GET A GRIP AND BUTT OUT !!!!!!!

This is such ridiculous neo-bullshit; typical of the times.

People have grown up around smoking for many generations.

I was taught as a child to leave lighters and matches alone because they burn and hurt. And, I left them alone. Only adults could use them; and only adults could smoke.

"Second-hand smoke", my ass. Open a window, or get an air filter. Big deal.

There is also the old adage: "Mind one's own business".

Okay keeping the matches and lighter around umm you're supposed to tell kids they hurt dont touch them ouch! so no big deal but smoking around kids really does affect them...I have severe asthma because my father smoked like a chimney around me for 15 years and let me tell you its not fun...i have had to give up playing sports because of it...seriously its not that hard to go outside and smoke or wait until you get out of the car...HAVE SOME SELF CONTROL PEOPLE!

OK IT'S TIME TO GROW UP..
FIRST OFF, THE MEDIA NEEDS TO STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT EVERY MOVE BRITNEY MAKES.. I MEAN.. WTF! LEAVE THE GIRL ALONE.
HOWEVER, IN THE CASE OF THIS PARTICULAR SUBJECT, THIS IS MY OPINION: LET HER DO WHAT SHE WANTS. IT'S HER KIDS.. SHE GAVE BIRTH TO THEM AND SUPPORTING THEM AND SHE'S RAISING THEM!! (to a certain extent) I MEAN, SO WHAT IF SHE LIT THE CIG UP IN FRONT OF HER CHILD.. WHO CARES!!! WAT'S NEXT?

EVER SINCE I WAS BORN, I HAVE LIVED IN A HOUSEHOLD OF 16 ADULTS, ALL SMOKING! THEY USED TO PUT ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM AND SMOKE THEIR LUNGS OUT.. I WAS ONLY A DAY OLD!! WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME? AM I NOT NORMAL?
AND PLUS, I MYSELF DO NOT SMOKE, NOR DO I HAVE ANY INTENTIONS TO, BUT WHY BASH HER JUST BECAUSE SHE'S SMOKING. IT'S NOT LIKE SHE'S TAKING A GUN AND GIVING IT TO HER CHILDREN.. THE CIGARETTE SMOKE VANISHES IN THE AIR, YET IT RIPS OUR OZONE LAYER.. SPACE SHUTTLES OR OTHER OBJECTS COMING TO EARTH DON'T RIP THE OZONE LAYER... HMMM

AND ANOTHER THING, IF THIS TRULY IS A FREE COUNTRY, THEN GIVE EVERYONE THEIR SPACE... IT'S SO SAD TO SEE SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY SUPPORT THE MEDIA... IT'S TIME YOU GREW UP AND FORMED AN OPINION OF YOUR OWN....

Smoking is so gross! Can you imagine kissing a smoker? I often offer this (hopefully) helpful advice for anyone caught in such a predicament. If you feel there is absolutely no way out of it and you absolutely must kiss a smoker, then I suggest you first perform the Smoker Scrub Down (SSD, for short). First thing is you need to prepare yourself properly for the SSD. Put on your elbow length rubber gloves. Then for your facial area, you should prepare like a dental hygienist would. Wear goggles and the little breathing mask. OK, now you're ready to tackle the nasty task. Fetch the toilet brush and a full can of Comet, Bon Ami, or similar abrasive cleaner. Have the smoker open wide and liberally apply the Comet or Bon Ami and then use some elbow grease to begin scrubbing. Just as with the toilet, you need to be sure and scrub well under both the upper and lower rims. The tongue is likely to be particularly troublesome. Perhaps a charcoal grill scraper or extra coarse brillo pad could be used to scour and scrub the tongue. There we go, much better. Now have the smoker gargle deeply with Pine-Sol, rinse, and repeat. Now it's time for clean up. Use a garden hose and rinse out the oral cavity thoroughly. Then, as a last step, tie one of those air fresheners like people put on their car rear view mirror to one of the smokers upper front teeth and let it dangle freely in their mouth for an hour or so. I suggest pine forest scent but any other scent will do. This should help deodorize the oral cavity. Now you are ready for the dirty deed. Swoop in quickly, give the smoker a quick peck on the cheek, and then back away quickly. Voila! Mission accomplished!

Now I know already what some of you are saying. My ears are burning. I can hear it now. Some of you are saying "OK, Mr. smart alek know it all. You think you are so smart, what about this. Let's say I perform the Smoker Scrub Down and get to the last step and find that, like many smokers, this smoker is missing both upper front teeth. So now I have no place where I can attach the air freshener. Then what do I do Mr. smarty pants? See, you're not so smart after all. "

Well, I already have an answer for that too. Look, if you get yourself into a situation where you get hooked up with some person who is both a smoker AND is missing both upper front teeth, then you have got real problems. At that point, getting the Smoker Scrub Down process to work properly should be the least of your worries. Your real problem is you need to exercise better judgment in selecting dates. So don't come whining to me that SSD does not work properly if you get yourself into that situation.

Anyway, hopefully this timely advice will help someone if they are ever confronted with the need to perform this wretched task.

What senseless brouhaha! I find nothing outrageous about Britney's behavior--she didn't do anything offensive or irresponsible.

Yes, I am a smoker, and weirdly I only started 3 years ago--although my mother and grandmother both smoked around me when I was a kid. Plus, I'm European. Smoking is actually a pretty wonderful.

Also, geo978, I've kissed many smokers and have been kissed in return plenty.
If you brush your teeth after you smoke (or just drink some booze), there is no unpleasant aftertaste.

I'm not advocating smoking in general, but the hysterical harrassment of smokers in this country (and now in Europe too...!) is totally obnoxious.

Wake up, people: those cell-phone earpieces that most people walk around with are most likely 10 times more dangerous to your brain, and overall health, than second-hand smoke..

There, I said it.

In this picture it appears that Britney does not care if the child handles the cigarettes and lighter. He could have burnt himself.

I feel as though everyone is missing a crucial point here, rant and rave all you want but guess what? Thats his mother. He's going to love her regardless of whatever idiotic pictures and obscene gossip is circulating. If anyone wants to talk down to someone elses parenting skills, be my guest, but I'll only respect it if you think that with 100 cameras on your every move you wouldn't look like a bad parent, bad role-model, or bad person in a few too.

IT IS DISGUSTING how much people want to harass others today! GROW UP and leave her alone. It doesn't matter what you think, she's not beating or abusing her children and sadly, that's saying a lot in America today. I trust she's doing her best because she's a mother and that means something to every woman who experiences it.

You can berate her all you'd like but in the end, it's not your call how she raises her children. If you don't like it, don't pick up the tabloid - I'm sure there's something more fufilling on that magazine rack.

P.S. Four year olds can't burn themselves with a child-safe Bic lighter.

P.P.S. I'm eighteen and have smoked for three years. My mom smoks too and guess what, even with all that second hand smoke that's "so dangerous", I am still more willing to accept everyone with their flaws, what does that say about you?