We know today that smoking tobacco leads to serious health effects. It is the the greatest cause of preventable death globally, and killed at least a hundred million deaths in the 20th century. Current smokers are estimated to die an average of 10 years earlier than non-smokers. Tobacco contains 70 known carcinogens, plus nicotine, which is a highly addictive psychoactive drug. As early as the 1700, it was generally known that tobacco caused cancer. But tobacco companies succeeded in selling their product to the public. I heard that China still smokes a lot, so I asked Google AI: Despite a slight decline in the percentage of individual smokers, overall cigarette consumption in China has surged by 39% over the past two decades . The country now accounts for nearly half of the world's total cigarette consumption , selling approximately 2.4 trillion cigarettes annually. [ 1 , 2 ] The rising trend in cigarette sales and consumption is driven by a combination of institutional, economi...

I'll begin with me: Back from a 50-day odyssey involving two cruises and a testy train journey. I didn't like the continuous stress level.  Plus I mildly suffered from pollen pollution.  Maybe worst of all, I gained 10 pounds. Mind you, the overall enjoyment level was high, and whole effort worthwhile. Back home in my cocoon called 15 Craigside, I appreciate the security and comfort. I haven't started my low calorie diet yet, for the meal offerings since my return have been difficult to avoid: My first lunch came from Marukai:  hamburger curry, Korean chicken, macaroni salad, sashimi with beer.   I'm easing into my diet. By the way, I returned home to watch the University Hawaii men's volleyball team beat California-Irvine for the NCAA national championship. Yesterday, for example, 15 Craigside featured Chili Hot Dog for lunch, then Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner. Today, Fish and Chips, followed by Beef Curry, with the soup of the day being New England Clam ...

For those regulars of this blog site, I will get to our American Melody cruise on the Mississippi River.  But first, my topic of the day: the  Cicada . This is not a travel site.  No city/town has that name. Not about those swarming insects from 13- or 17-year broods.   Anyway, this happens not to be one of those springs when they emerge .  Although there will come a few stragglers, like this one shown.  Brood XXIII will strike in 2028.  In prime cicada years, you can more readily find chocolate chip cicada cookies. The Cicada I'm referring to today is the  new COVID variant . This will be an encore, for this variant first appeared in 2024. Cicada is nickname for BA.3.2, which first infected people in South Africa. Cicada is responsible for 30% of Europe's COVID ailments. More: Scientists say that Cicada carries   70 to 75 new mutations   in the spike protein, the portion that the human immune system recognizes and targets. That's m...