Snoop Dogg shocked fans recently when he announced he was "giving up smoke," but all is not what it seems... Taking to social media last Thursday, the rapper wrote: "After much consideration and conversation with my family, I've decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time." The 52-year-old - whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr - surprised fans with this news as he is widely known for his love of smoking weed, he appeared to have a puff ahead of his Super Bowl performance last year and had fans desperately to fill his blunt roller vacancy. He even has a cannabis-focused digital media platform called Merry Jane which he launched in 2015, and also invested the THC-infused savory snacks called TSUMo Snacks. So this announcement left fans divided as some wished him well on this new chapter, while others weren't convinced this was true, believing it to be a publicity stunt. And it turns out they were right, as it was revealed to be part of an advert for smokeless fire pit company Solo Stove. "I have an announcement," Snoop Dogg says in the advert. "I’m giving up smoke. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Snoop? Smoke is kinda your whole thing?’ “But I’m done with it. I’m done with […] my clothes smelling all sticky icky. I’m going smokeless. Solo Stove fixed fire, they take out the smoke, clever.” Fans have been sharing their reaction to the publicity stunt, with some calling the move "one of the most brilliant marketing plans," and "the biggest prank of the year". It's fair to say Snoop got us all good with this stunt. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The world was left baffled last week when Snoop Dogg finally announced he was 'giving up smoke' - but all is not as it seems. After days of mystery surrounding the announcement, with fans believing the rapper had given up smoking weed, he's finally come clean, revealing it to be part of a PR stunt. Snoop was actually promoting Solo's smokeless stoves, and posted a video of himself toasting marshmallows using the gadget. "I know what you're thinking: Snoop! Smoke is kind of your whole thing! But I'm done with it," the hip-hop star said in the advert. "Done with the coughing and my clothes smelling all sticky icky. I'm going smokeless. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

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