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Saturday, May 27, 2006

Graphic images to go on cigarette packets

The public are being asked to choose a series of picture warnings to appear on cigarette packets from next year.

People can give their opinion on a range of images designed to highlight the dangers of smoking on a website set up by the Department of Health.

Evidence shows that images have a greater impact than written health warnings alone, and they have already been introduced in some countries.

Images include diseased lungs, a dying smoker and a foetus in the womb.

People visiting the website will be able to choose images to support 14 health messages such as 'Smoking causes fatal lung cancer' or Smoking may reduce blood flow and causes impotence'.

The final images will cover 40% of the back of packets sold from autumn 2007.

Links:
BBC health

Smoking images

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Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Shahbaz walks out of Big Brother

Big Brother 7 contestant Shahbaz Chauhdry has walked out of the Channel 4 television show.

The 37-year-old Glaswegian was being watched by show psychologists after threatening to kill himself during his five days in the house.

'I am a dead man walking. This is my last curtain call,' he told housemates.

If only. Pffft.

The guy managed to disgrace 2 races and 3 minorities all at one go.


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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Man tells cops his Jenna Haze blow-up doll vanished

An Iowa man impervious to embarrassment called cops this week to report the theft of a blow-up fashioned to resemble a porn star. According to a Council Bluffs Police Department report, Trenton Camacho called cops Monday night to report that a 'Priority US Mail package' containing his 'Jenna Haze Love Doll' had been opened and that the plastic plaything was missing.

The box had been left in the common hallway of the apartment complex where the 21-year-old Camacho resides. Camacho said that he purchased the $32 item after receiving an e-mail solicitation and did not plan on replacing the stolen goods.

Camacho added that he had not previously ordered any blow-up dolls and was not certain what he was going to do with the life-size replica of the popular Haze, who's starred in films like 'Big Bottom Sadie' and 'Phuk Factor' and was named 'Best New Starlet' at the 2003 Adult Video News awards. Online ads describe the Haze doll as having 'soft, perky breasts' and 'sexy silkscreen crotchless panties & she has the tightest holes.'

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Friday, May 19, 2006

Big Brother - How to find The Golden Ticket

For the first time in Big Brother history, a member of the public will be chosen at random for the unique chance to become a housemate in this year's Big Brother house, that is if they are lucky enough to find a special golden ticket hidden inside a chocolate bar.

Running up to the launch of Big Brother 7, via a huge logistical operation, special KitKat bars will be distributed amongst up to 40,000 retail outlets nationwide ranging from the major Supermarkets to local convenience stores, newsagents and confectionery kiosks in train stations.

Stringent security measures have been put in place to protect the operation of competition. This morning*under the watch of an independent security team, Big Brother will hand over the prized tickets for delivery to a secret location where they will be inserted into the bars.

100 golden tickets will be placed into KitKat four-finger single bars and Kit Kat Chunky single bars for distribution across the country. The lucky winners of these tickets, having passed the programme's prerequisite and thorough background checks, will be invited to pack their bags, say goodbye to their loved ones and head down to the Big Brother studios for a special live TV broadcast where one of the lucky ticketholders will then be chosen at random to enter the house.

Earlier this year, open auditions held across the UK attracted a record 25,000 contestants to apply but producers of the Channel 4 show hope that the golden ticket initiative will attract the interest of a wider range of people.

The golden ticket competition opens at 10.30pm on Thursday 18th May and is available in 24hr stores and from opening time for other retailers on Friday 19th May. The competition closes on Friday 2nd June at 10.20pm.

On discovering a golden ticket, each of which are printed with a unique security coding, purchasers will have to ring a special 24-hour telephone hotline number for their chance to land a place in the Big Brother House."

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Sweetener 'not linked to cancer' except when it is

The artificial sweetener aspartame is not linked to cancer, according to a report just released by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The European food watchdog undertook an urgent review of the additive following a study (pdf), published in 2005, which suggested aspartame was carcinogenic.

But a working party said the incidence of tumours could not be linked to the artificial sweetener.

It says there is no reason to revise the current recommended intake levels.

Multiple Cancers
The review had been prompted by research undertaken by the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences (ERF) in Bologna, Italy, which looked at the incidence of tumours found in rats that had been given varying levels of aspartame.

The study monitored more than 1,800 rats, following them throughout their lives.

The results, the foundation believed, showed that aspartame had the ability to induce cancers in a number of sites in the animals' bodies.

Following the publication of the study in the European Journal of Clinical Oncology, the EFSA ordered a review of the safety of the sweetener.

Although AFC said ERF's study was "very extensive", the working group disagreed with the conclusions it had come to.

Other Explanations
Dr Iona Pratt, chair of AFC's working group, said: "The Ramazinni Foundation's study showed an increase of cancers of the blood - lymphoma and leukaemia - in the rats."

But, she said, the working group concluded that these tumours were not related to aspartame.

AFC said the rate of the tumours was not related to the dose of aspartame, which would have been expected if there was a link. Comment: er, bollocks. I suppose the more asbestos you inhale the more cancer you get? Not.

The working group believes that a respiratory disease, found in many of the rats that took part in the study, was the likely cause of the tumours. Comment: The evidence clearly shows that stuffing rats with aspartame had nothing to do with their developing cancers.

The AFC also looked at the incidence of kidney tumours and changes to the kidney believed to have been caused by aspartame, but concluded this was an outcome specific to rats. Comment: Aha! It was the rats' fault.

It also said the diagnoses of some of the cases of malignant schwannomas (a rare type of tumour) had not been confirmed by other scientific institutions, and that the sweetener showed no evidence of genotoxity - the ability to damage DNA. Comment: Fictitous tumours. Of course.

Comment: In summary then; the tumours that developed were because of a respiratory disease, were specific to rats and ahem, did not exist in the first place.

Well, I feel safer, don't you?


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Thursday, May 04, 2006

Toyota worker sues for $190 million

A Toyota employee has filed a $190m (£103m) lawsuit in the US, alleging that the carmaker's top American boss sexually harassed her.

Sayaka Kobayashi, 42, claims Toyota North American chief executive Hideaki Otaka, 65, made repeated sexual advances to her in 2005.

Ms Kobayashi alleges that the sexual harassment against her took place while she was working as Mr Otaka's assistant in New York.

For that kind of money, I wish I had been his assistant!

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Monday, May 01, 2006

Pete Doherty bailed after drugs arrest

Singer Pete Doherty has been released on bail after his arrest on suspicion of administering noxious substances.

The Babyshambles frontman was arrested in east London after a newspaper published pictures allegedly showing him injecting drugs into a female fan.

He is already on police bail after being held on suspicion of possessing class A drugs last week.

The guy is a total waster. He has everything someone of his age could want ... his health, fame, money and all the trimmings ... and he spends his days messing himself up. Bah!

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Mr Doherty was arrested before he was due to play at an anti-racism concert in Trafalgar Square on Saturday.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: 'He was released on bail to return on a date in July pending further inquiries.'"