All segments of society should join hands to fight the dangers of smoking, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Othaim, Chairman of the Tobacco and Narcotics Combat Charity Society (Kafa), said here Tuesday. The word Kafa means “enough” in Arabic. At a press conference here, Sheikh Al-Othaim highlighted the role of the media and said its positive contribution would help to eliminate this serious health hazard. “We realize how important the media is in spreading awareness about this dangerous habit. Otherwise, our efforts will be useless,” he said. According to recent UN reports, there ar ... Jump to full article >>

Unhealthy patients could be paid if they change their bad habits. Smokers, the obese and heavy drinkers would be targeted to help them improve their lifestyles. A project already under way in Kent offers overweight patients up to £425 to meet slimming targets. Over the next few months, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, the NHS advisory body, will look at this pilot scheme and other similar trials also under way. If they are successful, programmes like these could be introduced across the country by next year. They would see patients being given monetary prizes and vouchers under ... Jump to full article >>

Report says she was eliminated by director Michael Bay, but representative for the depicter of Mikaela Banes claims, ‘It was her decision not to return.’ There won’t be Megan Fox in “Transformers 3″. Deadline Hollywood has reported the actress will not reprise her role as Mikaela Banes in the upcoming film, citing that it was ultimately director Michael Bay’s decision. Soon after, Fox has confirmed that she indeed left the franchise, but denied speculation she was fired. “Megan Fox will not be starring in ‘Transformers 3′,” her repre ... Jump to full article >>

Change in price of items since 1978, relative to overall inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. The price of carbonated drinks, for example, has fallen 34 percent relative to all other prices. The classic way for lobbyists to defend their client’s interest is to insist that they are not actually defending their client’s interest. Really, they say, they are just looking out for ordinary Americans. Tobacco lobbyists spent years fighting regulation by claiming to be defending individual freedom, not the profits of tobacco companies. Detroit’s lobbyists did much the same to pus ... Jump to full article >>

University public health researchers have joined a call by health watchdogs for commercial tobacco sales to be phased out by 2020, but have endorsed people being able to legally grow their own tobacco. In submissions to the Maori Affairs select committee inquiry into the tobacco industry, the Smokefree Coalition quoted a UMR survey showing 64% of New Zealanders supported an end to commercial tobacco sales. Public health researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington, also pushed today for the government to plan for the 2020 target. “This plan would reduce smoking prevalence to virt ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco companies bill their newest product as a way its users can enjoy tobacco without smoking. It’s smokeless. It’s spitless. It’s snus. And it has government officials and scientists worried about its effect on the tobacco-using population. “Snus is being marketed as something you can use when you can’t smoke,” said Dr. Terry Pechacek, associate director of science for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Smoking and Health. Snus has been around for years, originating in Sweden as smokeless tobacco. But unlike smokele ... Jump to full article >>

You may think organic food is always better for you, but a new British study finds that wild birds beg to differ. The researchers found that the birds prefer conventional wheat seed, which helps them pack in the protein. The findings, study author Ailsa McKenzie of Newcastle University said in a news release from the school, were likely to be of “considerable interest to the general public in the debate over the relative merits of consuming organic food.” “Protein is an essential nutrient in the diet of all birds and mammals, and getting enough of it, especially in winter, can be hard,� ... Jump to full article >>

She was hailed as the successor to Jackie Kennedy, with the style press rhapsodising over her ability to carry off High Street buys and glittering designer gowns with equal panache. One dress, however, has sent ripples through the fashion world for rather different reasons. Mrs Obama’s choice of gown for a State dinner has sparked a debate about race and the delicate matter of whether one can call a dress colour ‘nude’ when it really depends on the wearer. The dress in question, which Mrs Obama wore to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the White House, was describe ... Jump to full article >>

Seven U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday – five in a massive Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul that filled the streets of the capital with blood. The attack brought the U.S. toll to a grim new milestone – 1,000 American soldiers dead in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001, the independent Web site icasualties.org. reported. A 42-year-old Canadian colonel also died in the morning rush-hour blast, along with at least a dozen Afghans. “I saw one person lying on the ground with no head,” said Mirza Mohammad, who was on his way to work when a van filled wit ... Jump to full article >>

The number of female smokers in the country may see a sharp rise as Chinese women have become the main target of tobacco companies, a government official said on Tuesday. Li Xinhua, a division chief with the Ministry of Health’s department of women, children and community health, said Chinese female smokers will probably jump by 10 percent if the government does not impose stricter control. “Statistics suggest that by the year 2002, 3.1 percent of women were smokers in China. Without further intervention by the government, it may easily pass 15 percent in the years to come,” ... Jump to full article >>

The troupe takes its improvisational hijinks into pulp territory with results that don’t always satisfy but are still fun to watch. While filming “The Big Sleep,” Howard Hawks asked author Raymond Chandler who killed a certain victim. Chandler’s famous response: He had no idea. Hard-boiled plots can get lost in their own fog, a danger that bedevils “LA Noir Unscripted,” the latest improvisational hijinks from Impro Theatre. The deadpan troupe, which has created original comic plays nightly in the style of Jane Austen, Tennessee Williams and Shakespeare, now ... Jump to full article >>