Since the smoking ban came into effect in the United Kingdom in 2007, people at live venues are forced to leave the building entirely to have a quick smoke between songs.
It's the same for reality television shows as well, as evidenced by Simon Cowell. It's been reported that the X-Factor judge is allegedly paying THOUSANDS in fines per year to have a smoke during the adverts on the TV show.
The show, which is taped live, has various short ad-breaks which Cowell uses to have a cigarette. However, it's understood they're not long enough for him to make it outdoors so Cowell pays a £100 fine per cigarette to smoke indoors at Fountain Studios in Wembley, London. Cowell is said to paying out thousands in fine for the privilege of smoking indoors.
A source told the Daily Star that "Simon makes no secret of the fact he enjoys a cigarette to help him relax and obviously being on the judging panel while also running the show is very stressful."
If we had to listen to that crap on a weekly basis, we'd be smoking too. Cowell's decision to smoke indoors and happily pay the fines has bosses baffled, but obviously, when you're that rich, who cares?
Via DailyStar.co.uk
