Shane Warne takes money to give up smoking.

Shane Warne, the Australian spin bowler who recently admitted that he took money from an Indian bookmaker in exchange for providing basic cricketing information, has found yet another novel way to rake in the dollars. For $A200 000 (US$130 800; £76 900), he has agreed to try to give up smoking and to use the smoking cessation aid Nicorette in his attempt to do so. The announcement that he has accepted such a substantial sum from Pharmacia Upjohn, the makers of the nicotine patch and gum, has unleashed widespread media debate over the ethics of the arrangement. A Melbourne radio programme recently ran a listeners’ poll and found that 91% said “no” to the question “Should Shane Warne be paid $200 000 to stop smoking?” Radio commentators and callers to radio stations have questioned the propriety of taking money for doing something which, they argue, he should be doing anyway. Promoting hair transplants, as former test cricketer Greg Matthews did, is one thing, but taking money to quit smoking is considered quite another. Most people in the public health community, however, are delighted that Warne’s massive popularity will be widely associated with an antismoking message. They think that his competitive and feisty personality will be more effective in influencing behaviour than the healthy role models used in past campaigns. The track record of nicotine replacement treatment shows that it has at least double the effectiveness of placebo gums and patches. Clive Bates, the director of London-based Action on Smoking and Health, has come down on Warne’s side, pointing out that his decision, particularly if he succeeds, may ultimately save lives. News