A fuming gag!

The Welch actor and musician Rhys Ifans became well known thanks to his comic interpretation as Spike, Hugh Grant's flatmate in "Notting Hill". Always ready to have a joke at the expense of his audience, Rhys lit a cigarette, provoking anger among passengers on a flight to Los Angeles. The offending cigarette turned out to be a fake; it was in fact a nicotine substitute, which the actor regularly uses these days to rid himself of the nasty habit of smoking!

The manufacturer of the fake ciggie took the opportunity to point out that "using a SmokeStick doesn't fall foul of the smoking ban on planes; it is an ideal solution for those who find it tough to cross the Atlantic without smoking. The only downside is that it can be mistaken for a real cigarette..."