Friday Headlines: 

• Israel tells hundreds of thousands in Beirut to evacuate
• Melania Trump says rumours linking her to Epstein ‘need to end today’
• Convicted gang rapist remains on the run after escaping police custody 
• Funding cuts force Grace Tame Foundation to close
• Traffic volumes take a dive across the country 

Deep Dive: Smoking is making a comeback in pop culture, appearing in shows like The Bear and Euphoria, and in music videos from Charli XCX and Sabrina Carpenter. Even Australian band DMA’S opens their latest video My Baby’s Place with multiple people smoking within the first 30 seconds. 

The trend isn’t limited to entertainment. Instagram ‘cigfluencers’ are glamorising the habit, while depictions of smoking have surged by 70%, despite it remaining a leading cause of death worldwide. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Helen Smith is joined by public health professor Becky Freeman to discuss why smoking is resurfacing and whether vaping is playing a role in its resurgence. 

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