No Smoking

Joe Bastianich Wants You to Quit Smoking

Smoke-free.
Smoke-free. Photo: Noah Fecks

It’s high time for resolutions, and restaurateur Joe Bastianich is imploring the smokers of America to quit with the help of a cessation program called Blueprint to Quit. Joe smoked for eighteen years, especially throughout the early days of his partnership with Mario Batali, when he says he’d routinely be on his third pack by the time he was on the “way home from Babbo each night.” Though he’s been done with tobacco for fifteen years, Bastianich recently became a paid spokesperson for pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures nicotine gum and patches. Like those Pumpkin Pie Spice Pringles, and possibly Twinkies in the near future, Blueprint to Quit is available only at Wal-Mart. [People, Earlier]

Joe Bastianich Wants You to Quit Smoking