I love the Stones... Cocking a snoop at these miserable liberal minded do gooders is what we should all be doing... Lets have a revolution...

A Scotsman, Aberdeenshire,

How refreshing that in this nanny state world we have people prepared to stick to their principles. It is also a blessing that the vast majority of the audience were sympathtic to Keef and Ron. For all those wholier-than-thou, control freaks tut tutting and reaching for the Basildon Bond, maybe your pleasure and rights will be trampled on next. So before you go and afix your first class stamp to the envelope, better check your weight on the scales, make sure you have paid your parking tickets and see if you have put the right rubbish in the right bins.

DaveA, London,

Smoking a cigarette while playing a song, what's the big deal?
Let's ban beer and whine as well. Society is becoming stupid by being too rule- based. Flying back out from Heathrow, I noticed a sign which said: "When should I go to my gate? As soon as message GO TO GATE is shown" If you don't believe me, I took a picture.

Stresemann, Geneva,

Smoking's old, the Stones are old, their music's old, their audience is old. They smoke! Wow, how rebellious(!) Give me a breatk. This just shows their age. The whole sham show is just a masquerade, a dim fossil of an era long past. Time to put the whole kit & kaboodle behind glass in a museum.

Gene, Portland, OR

Most shocking rock'n'roll moments of all time:

Jerry Lee Lewis setting his piano on fire, Jim Morrison showing his penis to the audience, ozzy biting a bat's head off, Iggy Pop cutting himself up, The Who smashing their guitars ... and now...

Keith Richards lights up a cigarrette!!

This speaks for itself. Thanks to one of the most idiotic laws ever, America and our governments following suit have put us all back in kindergarten.

Had I been there, Eddie, I'd done it. We need to think about some serious civil disobedience strategy here.

R.C.Lopez, London,

I echo Eddies comment - it's about time there was a mass protest.
Good to see that not only are The Stones still rock'n'rolling but there is still that rebellious streak in them.

Keef and Ronnie - you are stars

Tich, Oflag IV-C,

As we all know, the world has gone mad. I am now struggling to find anything else relevant to say because the people that are likely to read my comments already KNOW what a shambles we have become, I.E. Health and Safety ! the two most dangerous words in existence. The fact that a decent rock band can not smoke on stage is, without a doubt ridiculous.-,It will not be long before we have to apply for permission to breath in, out being optional !

Roy Wood, Mildenhall, Suffolk

!may be wrong but I thought that "the law" aloud aqctors to smoke on stage if it was relevant to the performance i.e. play.
Surely the Stones are giving a performance?

stuart may, neapolis, crete/greece

Smoking a fag is considered to be both " Rockn'Roll" and Newsworthy. Is it just me, or is the UK now a sterile, boring nanny state?

Mark, London, Uk

I was so hoping Keith would light up and he didn't disappoint. There are literaly millions of people against this over the top legislation and any person who shows defiance gets my support.

Rich, Surrey, UK

I'm not convinced that smoking on stage is in any way essential or integral to Keith Richards' and the Rolling Stones' performance, and it really sends out the wrong message to the people in the audience.

Gigs in this city used to be so smokey and the smoking ban has been such a positive change for many gig goers, and performers alike. So this should be addressed, otherwise it will set the wrong kind of precedent. Do you really want bands to light up on stage citing it an "integral part of their performance"? Up until very recently I wasn't even aware that an excemption exists for certain performances and I feel it needs to be clarified in the context of events like rock concerts.

Thomas Geyrhalter, London,

I have renewed respect for the Stones, we should all defy this draconian law, it is after all based on lies and a deliberate and spiteful propaganda campaign by ASH to impose a law which first came into force in Nazi Germany in 1937 after Fritz Lickint working for Hitler's anti-tabacco campaign "invented" the phrase "Passive Smoking" with no scientific evidence, a fact which is as true today as it was then.

Dieter Dirla, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon, UK

Glad to see they hav,nt killed off the entire audience and no comlaints been made out of 20,000 people.

s. donald, darlington, uk

Good for Keith Richards!

cliff.rigg, Cleveland, UK

If they feel that they are above the law, then have a clause in their contact - smoke and you wont get paid. Celebrities need to know that the law is for everyone.

coleman, Burlington, Ontario

Good for them! If you disagree with this ban then email or write to 10 Downing St. Stating clearly your reasons for your disagreement. "I just don't like it" is not enough. Good, strong arguments against it are needed.
Many thousands of individual complaints will have much more effect than one large petition.

Ade Smith, Matlock, Derbyshire, UK

Well done the " Smoking Stones". At the next gig ALL the smokers in the audience should light up as well, it would be a laugh watching the Council gestapo trying to take thousands of names. This law is crazy and should be changed to give people choice.

Eddie Douthwaite, South Queensferry, Scotland

What is wrong with this country, surely a cigarette on stage is not going to effect the passive smoking in the rest of O2! Good old Keith, keep rocking and smoking.

Marion Gibbard, London,

Another stupid EU law. In Spain they put up a sign in their cafe's saying "it is permitted to smoke here" and that's how it should be. Give people a choice, isn't that what a Democracy is all about.

Patricia James, Petersfield, Hampshire

That's rock and roll. Well done to the Stones and stuff ASH, bad laws are meant to be broken.

Steve P, Leeds, England

They shouldn't think they're above the law just because they have the dosh to pay the fines - but how sad that this is the level of outrage that the rock world's bad boys have sunk to. They'll be wearing torn cardigans on stage next.

Tony Wickham, New Milton, Hants

"A £2,500 fine"? They'll be bankrupted!

Leo, London,