World No Tobacco Day has become an established rallying point for global tobacco prevention efforts, and now advocates would like to see a similar annual event aimed at alcohol use.
The Times of India reported May 27 that a group of 11 Southeast Asian nations has proposed that the World Health Organization (WHO) establish Oct. 2 -- Mahatma Gandhi's birthday -- as World No Alcohol Day. The proposal was made by India and accepted by the World Health Assembly this week.
A final vote on the plan would take place at the assembly's executive board meeting in January 2009. "It could take a year for the proposal to be granted official approval. We are confident that it will go through," said an official of the Indian health ministry.
A Framework Convention on Alcohol Control also is being considered by WHO, and all 193 WHO member nations this week signed a resolution pledging to reduce alcohol-related harm.
World No Alcohol Day
SCOTT WEILAND Checks Into Jail
According to People.com, former VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland checked into a Van Nuys, Calif., jail on Monday (May 12) to serve eight days for a second DUI conviction.
The STONE TEMPLE PILOTS frontman surrendered at 8:55 a.m., according to the sheriff's inmate web site.
Weiland was sentenced on April 28 to 192 hours in jail for a November 2007 DUI in Los Angeles. The singer also received four years' probation, was fined $2,000, and was ordered to take part in an 18-month alcohol program. He was potentially looking at a year behind bars for DUI with a prior conviction. At the time of his November arrest, Weiland had just finished a previous three-year-probation for a 2004 DUI arrested. He declined to take a chemical test after the November incident. He was booked and released after posting $40,000 bail, subsequently checking into a rehab facility in February.
Bam! Pow! Go to Jail. Nick Bollea Sentenced to Eight Months in Jail
Hulk Hogan's Son Nick Bollea Sentenced to Eight Months in Jail. Nick Bollea was sentenced to eight months in Florida’s Pinellas County Jail for felony reckless driving Thursday after pleading no contest in in court.
A judge also handed down five years probation, 500 hours of community service and a three-year drivers license revocation. Nick will not be able to drink for the duration of his probation, and will attend DUI education classes within one year.
The 17-year-old donned a light colored suit to Pinellas County Court and stared straight ahead as the sentence was read.
Sitting behind him was a black-clad Hulk, who prayed during the proceedings and grew teary-eyed, sister Brooke, who wore a top with the shoulders cut out and Hulk's soon-to-be ex-wife, Linda.
Nick was arrested last November on reckless-driving charges stemming from an August 26 crash. An eyewitness told police that Bollea and a pal were drag racing upwards of 100 mph when Nick’s yellow Toyota Supra slammed into a palm tree. Two hours after the crash, alcohol was detected in his bloodstream.
John Graziano, who was in Bollea's passenger seat and not wearing a seat belt, was seriously injured. A report filed in court in September said he likely spend the remainder of his life in a nursing home.
10 Essential Health Tips
Some great tips I found in the Internet and here these are for you.
(The Basics to Practice Every Day)
"He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything." -Arabian Proverb
1. Move More
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster. Think 'move' in small increments of time. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that's great when you're up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!
2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!
3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we've seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or 'tough guy' stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.
4. Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.
5. Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It's a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: 'Smoke gets in your eyes'…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.
6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.
7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body's boss.
8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.
9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can't be unhappy when you're smiling or singing.
10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn't mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.
Florida Woman Murdered in Undercover Drug Sting
A Florida woman arrested for possession of marijuana and ecstasy was pressed into service as a drug informant, then murdered during a sting operation where she was told to purchase 1,500 ecstasy pills, cocaine, and a gun from a pair of drug dealers.
ABC News reported May 13 that the body of Rachel Morningstar Hoffman, 23, was found two days after she disappeared following a meeting with the drug dealers. Hoffman had agreed to take part in the staked-out drug buy in return for leniency in her drug case, where she faced possible prison time for possession of 200 grams of marijuana and a handful of ecstasy pills.
The dealers changed the location of the meeting at the last minute, and Hoffman went along with them despite a warning from investigators. "Safety is paramount," said Tallahassee Police spokesperson David McCranie. "The investigator said 'Don't do it.' We call these things off all the time. But Rachel went ahead and met [the dealers] and that ultimately lead to her murder."
The Tallahassee police have been sharply criticized for placing the recent Florida State University graduate in danger and failing to inform her attorney about the leniency deal.
"They're asking her to do something that would put her in a life-or-death situation," said lawyer Johnnie Devine. "I have never had any time where the police department has not called me to tell me this is what's happening ... She had never worked as an undercover agent. She had no experience or training in this matter."
The Florida Attorney General's office plans to conduct an independent investigation into the case.
Bill Would Ban All Cigarette Flavors Except Menthol
A bill in Congress that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products also would ban all flavored cigarettes -- except menthol. That's an exception that worries many public-health experts, who point out that menthol cigarettes are especially popular among African-Americans.
The New York Times reported May 13 that the bill would prohibit a number of popular cigarette flavorings, including clove and cinnamon, but allows menthol-flavored cigarettes in an apparent concession to the tobacco industry. Menthol cigarettes comprise about a quarter of the $70 billion worth of cigarettes sold in the U.S. each year.
Philip Morris USA relies heavily on sales of menthol cigarettes, and is the only major tobacco firm to endorse the FDA bill.
"I would have been in favor of banning menthol," said Sen Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) "But as a practical matter that simply wasn't doable."
"The bottom line is we want the legislation," said William S. Robinson, executive director of the National African-American Tobacco Prevention Network. "But we want to reserve the right to address this issue at some critical point because of the percentage of people of African descent who use mentholated products."
The legislation does give FDA the power to remove cigarette additives, including menthol, if they are proven to be harmful to smokers.
"I think we can say definitively that menthol induces smoking in the African-American community and subsequently serves as a direct link to African-American death and disease," said Robert G. Robinson, formerly an associate director in the office of smoking and health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Philip Morris contends that there is little evidence that menthol cigarettes are any more addictive or dangerous than other cigarettes, a position backed by rival Lorillard Tobacco.
Men More Likely to Drink for Stress Relief
Depressed men are more likely than women to crave alcohol and develop alcohol-related disorder, according to researchers at Yale University.
CBC News reported May 12 that the study of 54 healthy adult drinkers studied responses to stressful events such as relationship problems and job loss.
"Men's tendency to crave alcohol when upset may be a learned behavior or may be related to known gender differences in reward pathways in the brain," said researcher Tara Chaplin. "And this tendency may contribute to risk for alcohol-use disorders."
The study was published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
Heavy Marijuana Use Linked to Coronary Risk
Heavy marijuana use may be related to an increase in a blood protein linked to heart disease, although researchers did not look at whether study subjects actually had heart problems, Reuters reported May 13.
Researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that levels of apolipoprotein C-III, which is involved in metabolism of triglycerides in the blood, were higher among 18 long-term heavy marijuana users than among a control group of 24 non marijuana users. High levels of triglycerides can cause hardening of the arteries, raising the risk of stroke or heart attack.
"Chronic marijuana use is not only causing people to get high, it's actually causing long-term adverse effects in patients who use too much of the drug," said lead researcher Jean Lud Cadet. "Chronic marijuana abuse is not so benign."
The study subjects smoked between 78 and 350 marijuana cigarettes per week. "We're talking about people who are stoned all the time. We're talking about the marijuana equivalent of the guy in the alley clutching a bottle of cheap wine," said Bruce Mirken, a spokesperson for the Marijuana Policy Project. "If you do anything to that level of excess, it might well have some untoward effects, whether it's marijuana or wine or broccoli."
Mirken added, "Even if you take this finding at face value, it's not at all clear that it has any relevance to the real world because there is still no data showing higher rates of mortality among marijuana smokers. If this was a significant cause of cardiovascular disease, where are the bodies?"
The study appeared in the May 13, 2008 issue of the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
