Simon Cowell starts cigarette addiction treatment

Simon Cowell is reportedly visiting an addiction clinic to help beat his 15-plus a day cigarette habit.

It has been revealed that the 52-year-old music mogul, who has admitted he started smoking at age eight, is seeking help at the top London facility after friends and family begged him to stop smoking.

According to The People, he has a family history of lung cancer.

“Simon made it his New Year resolution,” the Daily Mail quoted a source as telling the publication.

“He’s been smoking since a very young age and feels the time is now right to try and stop.

“He has no major health issues at the moment but, as always, he is under a lot of pressure with his work schedule.

“Simon’s mother and some of his closest friends have been nagging him for some time about trying to stop smoking.

“His grandfather Robert was a heavy smoker who died of lung cancer. His father suffered a heart attack.

“It’s made Simon think long and hard about his own health now,” the source said.

The TV magnate, who is busy with Britain’s Got Talent auditions, commented on his habit of smoking last year.

“I genuinely still love smoking."

“I equate smoking with having a good time."

“I shouldn’t be saying this, but, well, they’re not illegal, are they? After sex amazing.

He is often pictured aboard is yacht, lazing in the sun with a cigarette in his moth.

“Simon is a very healthy guy who looks after himself diet-wise very well,” Cowell’s spokesman Max Clifford said.

“But he has made a New Year’s resolution to give up, or at least significantly cut back, on his smoking,” he added.

First Published: Jan 23, 2012 13:42 IST