Divine cigarettes?

Published April 13, 2011

At the Griya Balur clinic in Indonesia, family members are encouraged to smoke “divine cigarettes” for health benefits while patients undergo treatment for other illnesses. The treatment includes the blowing of smoke from “divine cigarettes” infused with “nanotechnology” to remove their cancer causing “free radicals”. Along with cancer and autism, it is just one of the ailments the Griya Balur clinic claims it can cure with cigarettes.

“Smoking can eliminate anxiety, sharpen concentration and calm the nerves. It is a good cheap alternative to other expensive drugs, like Valium,” Aris Widodo, a pharmacology professor at Brawijaya University in Indonesia, told an AFP reporter.

Smoking kills at least 400,000 people every year and another 25,000 die from passive smoking. - Photos by AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Madressah politics
Updated 11 Dec, 2024

Madressah politics

The curriculum taught must be free of hate and prejudice, while madressah students need to be taught life skills to later contribute to economy.
Targeting travellers
11 Dec, 2024

Targeting travellers

THE country’s top tax authority seems to have run out of good ideas. According to news reports, the Federal Board...
Grieving elephants
11 Dec, 2024

Grieving elephants

FOR most, the news will perhaps not even register. Another elephant has died in captivity in Pakistan. The death is...
Syria’s future
Updated 10 Dec, 2024

Syria’s future

Today, HTS — a ‘reformed’ radical outfit once associated with Al Qaeda — is in a position to be the leading power broker in Syria.
Rights in peril
10 Dec, 2024

Rights in peril

IN Pakistan’s fraught landscape of human rights infringements, misery hangs in the air. What makes this year’s...
Learning from AJK
10 Dec, 2024

Learning from AJK

THE recent events in Azad Kashmir are a powerful example of how dialogue can play a constructive role in effectively...