Ciggyfree Blog & Gov Alert

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services encourages New Hampshire residents to join millions of people around the world on March 29 at 8 p.m. in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for one hour.

“Earth Hour” is an event that was created by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to reduce energy use and heighten awareness of everyone’s impact on climate change.  In one year the event has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour.  More than 100 cities across North America will participate.

By participating in this event, New Hampshire residents can take a symbolic step towards making changes that will help to address the impacts of climate change.  Simple things like turning off appliances and lights while not in use, switching your lights to energy efficient bulbs, can make a big difference in reducing your energy use, and can save you money on your electric bill in the process.

To learn more about Earth Hour or sign up to participate, visit www.earthhour.org.  For more energy saving tips, go to www.des.nh.gov/ard/climatechange/.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 28, 2008
CONTACT: Kathy Brockett, 603-271-6284

A simple discussion of lung capacity appears to double the rate patients follow a doctor’s advice to quit smoking.

A study published online March 7 in the British journal BMJ suggests that if a doctor tells smokers their “lung age” — the age of the average healthy nonsmoker who would match them in breathing strength — they are more likely to stop smoking.

Using a spirometer, a device that measures how fast and how much air a person can breathe, British doctors tested 561 smokers, men and women with an average age of 53.

Half were randomly assigned to receive their results as lung age, explained with a chart showing lung capacity as it normally decreases with age. The other half were told the amount of air in liters they could force out in one second and were to return in a year “to see if there has been any change in lung function.”
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We all are aware that smoking is hazardous to one’s health. But now it is being reported that prolonged exposure to second-hand smoke can cause serious damage to your Nintendo Wii.

Now who could have thought of that? But it’s actually true. Essentially, the smoke damages the laser that reads Wii game discs.

The issue came to light with the release of the latest installment in the Mario Bros series of video games-“Super Smash Brothers Brawl”. The game released in Japan last month but made its debut in the United States on Sunday and is likely to be one of Nintendo’s biggest Wii titles for 2008.

“Smash Brothers” contains so much data that it had to be produced on a double-layer DVD. This huge amount of data requires higher levels of accuracy from the internal laser that helps read the game disc, thus amplifying any deficiencies inherent within the system.

Apparently, second-hand smoke can seep into the Wii itself and leave residue or other contamination on the laser’s lens, thus interfering with the ability of the console to run a game.

According to a statement on the Nintendo Web site, “A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large-capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive.” poker spielen ohne anmeldenpoker regeln straÃ?einternet texas holdemgeld online gewinnengratis poker gameswww party poker degratis poker ohne downloadpoker spiel runterladenpoker ohne internetkostenloses poker spieltexas holdem poker pcparty poker 2bester poker bonuspoker spielen auf deutschgioco carte pokerpoker gioco completoprobabilità pokerstrategia texas holdemregole gioco pokerpoker online gamesgiochi da pokerscommesse internetforum poker onlinedraw poker on linepoker tutto gratisgiochi poker gratis da scaricarescuola poker onlineworld pokerpoker su internetcasino texas holdemstreep poker on linegioco poker in italianostri pokergioca a poker on linewww super poker compoker on line multiplayerpoker game gratisadvance? cash loan online payday ?video poker deucesfree backgammon game,free backgammon,backgammon download free online playbest casino online payouts,best casino,best online casino bonuscasino online rollerbest internet casinofree blackjack casino game,blackjack free ware,free blackjackno deposit casino cash,casino cash,free cash casinofree pokerjuegos polli pokeromaha high pokerjugar video poquer onlinecasino on net com

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Like we need one more reason not to smoke, especially during pregnancy (and even for the men in the house who create second-hand smoke): new science is telling us that the increased risk for SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) among people exposed to nicotine is very real. And very explainable.

Sleep Review magazine is reporting a fascinating study that just came out, detailing why an infant’s ability to respond to oxygen deprivation after birth is dramatically compromised by exposure to nicotine in the womb–even when that exposure is light to moderate.

Picture a baby lying face down in bed. A normal, healthy baby would sense it’s being deprived of vital oxygen, and thus move its head. This is similar to the “flight or flight” response we get when we’re in a dire situation and have to move fast to survive (our body moves without us really thinking about it).

But when a baby has been exposed to the chemical nicotine in the womb, apparently this instinctual arousal mechanism doesn’t work so well. So the baby isn’t quick enough to respond and save his life.
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NEW YORK — WHO today released new data showing that while progress has been made, not a single country fully implements all key tobacco control measures, and outlined an approach that governments can adopt to prevent tens of millions of premature deaths by the middle of this century.

In a new report which presents the first comprehensive analysis of global tobacco use and control efforts, WHO finds that only 5% of the world’s population live in countries that fully protect their population with any one of the key measures that reduce smoking rates. The report also reveals that governments around the world collect 500 times more money in tobacco taxes each year than they spend on anti-tobacco efforts. It finds that tobacco taxes, the single most effective strategy, could be significantly increased in nearly all countries, providing a source of sustainable funding to implement and enforce the recommended approach, a package of six policies called MPOWER (see below).

“While efforts to combat tobacco are gaining momentum, virtually every country needs to do more. These six strategies are within the reach of every country, rich or poor and, when combined as a package, they offer us the best chance of reversing this growing epidemic,” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. Dr Chan launched the WHO Report of the Global Tobacco Epidemic at a news conference with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Philanthropies helped fund the report.

“The report released today is revolutionary,” Mayor Bloomberg said. “For the first time, we have both a rigorous approach to stop the tobacco epidemic and solid data to hold us all accountable. No country fully implements all of the MPOWER policies and 80% of countries don’t fully implement even one policy. While tobacco control measures are sometimes controversial, they save lives and governments need to step up and do the right thing.”
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Cigarette tax would go from 7 cents per pack to 30-50 cents in plan

The country’s second-largest cigarette company is an anonymous backer of a campaign opposing a bill to raise South Carolina’s lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax.

The message began showing up in mailboxes last week — 10,000 postcards sent to Republican activists by the S.C. Association of Taxpayers.

The postcards express concern about a proposed plan to raise the state’s cigarette tax, now 7 cents per pack, to between 30 and 50 cents per pack. Some legislators have suggested the new tax revenue could go toward providing employers tax credits to buy employee health insurance.

Featuring a graph showing a “$190 million unfunded taxpayer mandate,” the postcards ask voters to “stop this HillaryCare styled welfare plan.”

Several state Senate staffers said the chart on the postcards is the same chart that R.J. Reynolds lobbyists showed some state senators in recent weeks.
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