[jack]

Do any of you guys know how to apply smoke onto an image, as has been done with this image:

[Mr Fred]

PhotoShop - Smoke Effect

[steveb]

I've occasionally used the clouds generators and a simple white brush, played around with the distort filters (waves is OK like in the tutorial). Then blend in with soft light or whatever.
To get a more defined trail of smoke, like from a backlit cigarette, start with a white blob and stretch it with Ctrl-T and apply distortion filters to the top, then try different blending modes.
Fun! Especially when the result looks just right.

[jack]

You pair of f**king geniuses! I thought i'd have to find images of smoke on a white background, then use some transparency wizardry shit!

I'm just realizing how much of an illustrator dependant bumpkin I am!

Many thanks gents

[Dusteh]

Good stock images of smoke on a black backing would probably do the job just as well, if not better depending on how lax you were about the specific shape... you weren't far off!