Simon Cowell Gets Treatment to Quit Smoking

Acid-tongued talent show king Simon Cowell has finally committed to changing one of the most worrying things about him. It's not the butt cut, or the pokey nipples or the cruelty to children—it's his cigarette addiction. A smoker since the age of eight, 52-year-old Cowell has finally committed to kicking the habit. To help him get it done he's enrolled in a program at a London addiction treatment center where he's undergoing treatment, including hypnosis. Cowell was reportedly pushed to seek treatment by his mother and friends because of a family history of smoking-related illness—his grandfather, a heavy smoker, died of lung cancer, and his father had a heart attack. Cowell himself is totally healthy; last year, he admitted that he "equates smoking with having a good time." Still, he thinks the time has come to give up his 15-cigarette-a-day habit. After that, he can take care of those other issues.