Mindanao Nearly Swapped for Greenland

I came across a Segundo Eclar Romeo piece in the Philippine Daily Inquirer published January 20 that more than a century ago, Mindanao and Palawan were casually floated as tradable assets in an internal United States diplomatic letter, suggested as part of a geopolitical swap for Greenland.

Yes, you read that right. 

In 1910, then US Ambassador to Denmark Maurice Francis Egan sent a letter to Washington proposing what he himself described as a “very audacious suggestion”. In this proposal, the US could acquire Greenland and the Danish West Indies (now the US Virgin Islands) in exchange for Mindanao and Palawan, which were, at that time, under American colonial rule. 

The idea was that Denmark would receive the southern Philippine islands and then trade them to Germany in exchange for Northern Schleswig, a region Denmark had lost to Prussia in 1864. The proposal amounted to a three-way colonial chess move – one that treated territories with entire peoples and cultures as mere geopolitical pieces on an imperial board. 

This proposal was never presented to Denmark or discussed with Philippine colonial authorities. But it reveals much about the prevailing mindset of US diplomacy in the early 20th century – one in which strategic territories could be swapped or traded, not unlike rare cards between collectors. 

It also casts a long shadow into the present, especially in light of the current campaign of the Trump administration, which again expressed interest in acquiring Greenland by purchase and even with veiled threats of military coercion. While this modern iteration may sound implausible or laughable, it reminds us that the idea has long been simmering in the strategic imagination of the US foreign policy establishment. 

It has been said that to many Filipinos, the idea of swapping an island – even one as far-flung as Greenland – for Mindanao, home to over 26 million people and a cradle of unique cultural and historical identity, is not only unimaginable but also offensive. Mindanao is not a bargaining chip, period! 

Yet, the 1910 letter proves that this kind of thinking existed – and perhaps still exists – in circles where power outweighs principle. That Mindanao was ever proposed as a tradable item – without the knowledge or consent of its people – is not merely a historical footnote. It is a sobering reminder of how colonial logic treated territories as objects, not homelands. 

And that colonial logic is embedded deep within the Donald Trump psyche.

In Shenzhen in Guangdong province, China: 

😒😒😒

Maldivians Face Lifetime Smoking Ban for Gen Z and Beyond

The Republic of Maldives has banned smoking for individuals born on or after January 01, 2007, becoming the second country in the world after New Zealand to implement a generational prohibition on tobacco. 

According to Maldives Health Statistics, tobacco consumption and exposure to secondhand smoke are among the leading causes of illness and death nationwide. This prompted President Mohamed Muizzu to launch an anti-smoking campaign last year, banning vapes and e-cigarettes while doubling import duties and taxes on cigarettes. 

The new ban, affecting Generation Z first, was ratified as an amendment to the Tobacco Control Act in May and came into force on Saturday. It also reportedly applies to visitors to the island nation known for its luxury tourism. 

Not only that but individuals under 21 are also barred from participating in tobacco-related sales or commercial activities, a move described as “further shielding young people from tobacco exposure”. 

The new law bans all forms of tobacco advertising, sponsorship, and promotion, and upholds a total prohibition on electronic cigarettes and vapes for all ages, including their import, sale, distribution, possession, and use. The Maldives Health Ministry said the new law will help “protect public health and promote a tobacco-free generation”. 

First Lady Saajidhaa Mohamed hailed the move as historic, calling it “a bold, evidence-based step to break the cycle of addiction and prevent diseases” and a commitment to “securing a healthier, stronger future for our youth”. 

Many countries have introduced measures to curb tobacco use in recent years, ranging from banning smoking in public places to raising tobacco taxes and implementing marketing and age restrictions.

Milan Cracks Down on Outdoor Smoking

Smoking in outdoors and public areas in Italy’s Milan is now banned. 

 

It’s the toughest extension of a series of bans starting in 2021, aimed at "improving the quality of the city’s air". Smoking has now been banned in outdoors and public areas in the polluted northern Italian city. The citywide ban goes into effect starting Wednesday in the strictest ban to date on smoking in the Italian financial and fashion capital. 

 

Those who break the new laws could be subjected to fines ranging from €40 to €240 ($41-$249). Local officials say the measure applies to “all public spaces, including streets”, but does however provide an exception for isolated places. Those smoking in isolated spaces may smoke outside, but must maintain a distance of at least 10 metres from other people.

 

The ban is the latest in an initiative launched back in 2021 aimed at improving the city’s air quality. Officials say the motive behind it is to also protect the health of citizens from the harmful effects of passive smoke inhaled by non-smokers in public spaces, especially those frequented by children.

 

The ban however does not apply to electronic cigarettes, more commonly known as vapes or e-cigarettes.

 

Chinese-made action RPG Black Myth: Wukong did well at the 2024 Steam Awards.

 

Every year, Valve holds The Steam Game Awards, a community-driven initiative to recognize the best games that were launched in that year. 

 

The awards are determined by community vote – as opposed to events like The Game Awards, which feature a jury selection – and split into individual categories. 

 

And so, for 2024, the overall winner for Game of the Year was Black Myth Wukong, which beat out other finalists: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Balatro, and Helldivers 2 for top spot. 

 

Game of the Year wasn't Wukong's only victory, either, with the game also taking home the "Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award", which seems logical given its overall victory, and the cleverly named "Best Game You Suck At Award", which is meant to highlight the best difficult game of the year. 

 

In this category, Black Myth Wukong was up against Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero, The Finals, Ghost of Tsushima, and Tekken 8, which is again a very diverse mix of games and genres, so it's somewhat interesting to see a narrative-driven game like Wukong come out ahead here.

 

BMW's successes put it in a category all its own for most-winning in one year at the Steam Awards: Games like Cuphead, Baldur's Gate 3, and Red Dead Redemption 2 have only won two categories in one year in the past. 

 

It's a pretty remarkable result of fan outpouring of love to round up that many people in what amounts to a popularity contest – the Steam Awards are decided by fan votes – though perhaps not a surprising one given that Black Myth: Wukong set the record for second-most people playing one Steam game at once and helped contribute to the most people online at once on Steam.

Smoking Weed is OK But Not Cigarettes:

California was the first US state to enact a statewide smoking ban in restaurants, which took effect on January 01, 1995. Nearly 30 years later, it is reintroducing smoking in select restaurants, but with a twist – tobacco will still be off-limits, but weed is OK.

 

On September 30, 2024, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law authorizing businesses that are already licensed to sell cannabis to serve hot food and non-alcoholic beverages. It will go into effect on January 01, 2025.

 

Supporters say that a more comfortable recreational weed culture will help reinvigorate California nightlife and boost profits for the state's highly taxed, highly regulated legal cannabis dispensaries, which compete with black-market sellers.

 

California legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, but dispensaries that sell the substance legally remain less popular than the black market.

 

"Right now, our small cannabis businesses are struggling to compete against illegal drug sellers that don't follow the law or pay taxes", said state assemblyman Matt Haney, who authored the bill.

 

"In order to ensure the legal cannabis market can survive and thrive in California, we have to allow them to adapt, innovate and offer products and experiences that customers want", Haney continued.

 

Some cities like West Hollywood, near Los Angeles, have been calling for such legislation for years. The "cannabis cafe" model has been compared to Amsterdam in Netherlands, where the consumption of cannabis has been legal at coffee shops since the 1970s.

 

Not everyone is in favor of the move, however.

 

Public health advocates have expressed concern about the effect smoking cannabis in restaurants can have on lung health.

 

"Secondhand marijuana smoke has many of the same carcinogens and toxic chemicals as secondhand tobacco smoke", read a statement from the American Cancer Society's advocacy branch. The new law "undermines the state's smoke-free restaurants law and compromises its enforcement, thus threatening to roll back decades of hard-won protections of everyone's right to breathe clean, smoke-free air".

 

Celtic’s unbeaten start to the season came to a shuddering halt as they were taught a Champions League lesson by a rampant Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. The latter routed the Scottish champions 7-1!

 

The only consolation goal for Celtic came from Daizen Maeda in the ninth minute. 

 

It is BVB’s biggest winning margin in the Champions League alongside a 6-0 win away to Legia Warsaw in 2016.

New Zealand Seems Addicted to Cigarette Taxes

New Zealand had planned to restrict the sale of cigarettes to tobacconists and regulate the amount of nicotine in them. 

But now, the country's new government are scrapping the plans. Tax revenue from cigarette sales will let them balance the books on tax cuts elsewhere.

On Saturday, the newly-minted finance minister, Nicola Willis (left), said the measures will be axed before March 2024.

But public health experts have expressed shock at the policy reversal, saying it could cost up to 5,000 lives a year, and be particularly detrimental to Māori, who have higher smoking rates. 

"This is major loss for public health, and a huge win for the tobacco industry – whose profits will be boosted at the expense of Kiwi lives", said Prof Lisa Te Morenga, the chair of non-government industry group Health Coalition Aotearoa. 

Te Morenga highlighted modelling that showed the regulations would save $1.3 billion in health system costs over the next 20 years, if fully implemented, and would reduce mortality rates by 22% for women, and 9% for men.

Two late goals by Lazio earned the Serie A side a 2-0 home win over bottom side Celtic in Champions League Group E yesterday – therefore, ending the visitors' qualification hopes. 

And it means Celtic's meeting with Feyenoord in Glasgow in two weeks will be a dead rubber for both sides (Atletico Madrid beat the Dutch 3-1 in Rotterdam yesterday) as well as the Scottish champions' final continental game of this term.

Big Tobacco Fuels America’s Junk Food Diet and Obesity Epidemic

A study published in the journal Addiction on September 08, 2023 is making the claim that Big Tobacco engineered junk food loaded with fat, carbohydrates and sodium in combinations that are simply irresistible to people. These habit-forming foods were created by the same companies that brought us addictive cigarettes. 

 

The new research revealed that, after the government moved to regulate the tobacco industry in the 1960s, tobacco companies responded by investing heavily in food manufacturing to hook new customers. What tobacco companies chose to create in their newly acquired food companies was highly processed – or “ultra-processed”, to borrow a current buzzword – junk food that’s as addictive as tobacco. 

 

“These combinations don’t really exist in nature, so our bodies aren’t ready to handle them”, Tera Fazzino (left), assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kansas, said in a statement. 

 

“They can excessively trigger our brain’s reward system… which is why they’re difficult to resist”, she added. “These foods have combinations of ingredients that create effects you don’t get when you eat those ingredients separately”. 

 

Fazzino and her colleagues at KU analyzed the food brands owned by tobacco companies, which by the 1980s had invested heavily in the US food industry after tobacco sales began to decline. Tobacco giants like Philip Morris (which owned Kraft Foods and General Foods) and RJ Reynolds (which owned Del Monte Foods and Nabisco), started to research ways to make their foods irresistible. Scientists now refer to their sugary-sweet, fatty and salty creations as “hyperpalatable”. 

 

Soon, hyperpalatable foods like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Oreo cookies, Kool-Aid, Jell-O, Hawaiian Punch, Chips Ahoy! cookies, Lunchables, Triscuit and Ritz crackers, Oscar Mayer hot dogs and dozens of other goodies began appearing in store shelves – and filling consumers’ bellies. 

 

Around the same time that tobacco companies bought food makers, rates of obesity – and the subsequent increased risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes – jumped across the US. Rates of obesity in the US had changed little during the 1960s and ’70s, according to the National Institutes of Health, but soon increased sharply: from 13.4% in 1980 to 34.3% in 2008 among adults, and from 5% to 17% among children. 

 

Now, an estimated 68% of the American food supply is hyperpalatable, and most of those were introduced to consumers when the food makers were owned by tobacco companies. (Note: Some of the aforementioned food makers are no longer owned by tobacco companies). 

 

According to Fazzino’s research team, foods developed by tobacco-owned corporations were 29% more likely to be fat-and-sodium hyperpalatable, and 80% more likely to be carbohydrate-and-sodium hyperpalatable, than foods that were not tobacco-owned. 

 

The tobacco firms’ interest in food wasn’t accidental: They had decades of extensive scientific research into flavorings, chemical additives and colorings that were used to market cigarettes. 

 

“RJ Reynolds (are) in the flavor business”, one insider wrote in a company memo, adding that many of the flavors the company had created for cigarettes “would be useful in food, beverage and other products”, leading to “large financial returns”, as reported by the Washington Post on September 19, 2023.

 

When Philip Morris first sold Lunchables in 1988, the packaged meal was marketed to busy moms. But it was so stuffed with sodium and fat that one Philip Morris exec referred to jokes that the healthiest thing in Lunchables was the napkin. 

 

The success of these hyperpalatable products is rooted in the science behind addiction, according to researchers. They contain ingredients – some natural, some synthetic – that have been purified, concentrated and are rapidly absorbed into our blood streams, amplifying their ability to light up our brains’ reward centers. 

 

“Every addictive substance is something that we take from nature and we alter it, process it and refine it in a way that makes it more rewarding – and that is very clearly what happened with these hyper-palatable food substances”, Ashley Gearhardt, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan who studies food addiction. 

 

“We treat these foods like they come from nature. Instead, they’re foods that come from big tobacco”. That’s why people who eat hyperpalatable foods are more prone to obesity and other health problems, even when they don’t intend to overeat. 

 

“These foods may be designed to make you eat more than you planned,” Fazzino said. “It’s not just about personal choice and watching what you eat – they can kind of trick your body into eating more than you actually want”. 

 

 

Cigarette Stubs into Soft Toys

Littering is miscellaneous stuff thrown in wee amounts carelessly, especially in places where it doesn't belong. 

UNEP describe cigarette stubs as the most discarded waste item worldwide. It is claimed an estimated 4.5 trillion tobacco filters are littered each year – and making them really ubiquitous.

Even under optimal conditions, it can take at least nine months for a cigarette stub to decompose. Littered cigarette stubs stick around for a long time and leach toxic chemicals – such as arsenic (used to kill rats) and lead, to name a few – into the environment, leading to land, water and air pollution.

Aiming to make a meaningful change, an enterprising factory in New Delhi, India has been turning the discarded butts into soft toys. 

The stuffing itself is actually made out of cigarette butts that have been separated into fibers and then cleaned. These cleaned fibers are then bleached before taking on the form of the soft, white, fluffy stuff you'll find inside the teddy bears (and soft pillows too). 

The way it works requires a lot of manual labor – but this is India and so, it’s not an issue. 

"We started with 10 grams (of fiber per day) and now we are doing 1,000 kilograms... Annually we are able to recycle millions of cigarette butts", said 27-year-old Naman Gupta, who together wih his brother, 29-year-old Vipul are the masterminds behind this brilliant idea.

Aside from toys, the factory also separates the stubs' outer layer and tobacco to make recycled paper and compost powder respectively, turning the initiative into a good way to recycle and 'upcycle' things that would normally be considered toxic pollutants.

Considering the fact that almost 267 million people (nearly 30 percent of the adult population) in India are tobacco users, it's not hard to imagine how easy it is to source them out on the streets of New Delhi. 

According to the World Health Organization, the total economic costs attributed to tobacco use from all diseases in India (from 2017 to 2018) for people aged 35 and above amounted to $27.5 billion. 

And a PSA to tell you that "Smoking Kills":

Third-hand Smoke is Hazardous

Smoking indoors is bad for your health. 

According to new US research, smoke goes deep into objects in an enclosed space. And this so-called third-hand smoke can be dangerous to your health, even long after you’ve quit. 

Even without smoking, tobacco can damage health. Non-smokers are already familiar with passive smoking – that is, breathing in cigarette smoke, also known as second-hand smoke. 

But smoking creates yet another danger, that of “third-hand smoke”. This refers to residual tobacco substances that are in and on fabrics, furniture, floors and walls. Indoors, this third-hand smoke can constitute a health hazard even years later. 

These are the findings of a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Third-hand smoke is made up of nicotine, released in the smoke, and of a molecule naturally present in the indoor air called nitrous acid. 

The meeting of these two substances leads to the creation of molecules called tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA), which are highly carcinogenic. 

“Three different TSNAs were formed in this reaction, two of which are known carcinogens”, warns a press release based on the study. 

While for a few hours they can be detected by the smell of cold tobacco, these substances settle permanently in the homes. Always present on surfaces, they evolve and come into contact with the inhabitants. 

“Five different exposure pathways exceeded the ‘No Significant Risk Level’ under realistic scenarios, including inhalation, dust ingestion, direct dermal contact, gas-to-skin deposition, and epidermal nitrosation of nicotine”, the experts noted. 

Continuous exposure to these substances can significantly increase the risk of cancer. 

It is pertinent to highlight that third-hand smoke can't be eliminated by airing out rooms, opening windows, using fans or air conditioners, or confining smoking to only certain areas of a home. Traditional household cleaning often cannot effectively remove third-hand smoke from many surfaces. 

Therefore, the recommendation is to not smoke! Failing which, to smoke outside.

Tobacco Industry Damages the Environment

The tobacco industry is a far greater threat than many realise as it is one of the world’s biggest polluters, from leaving mountains of waste to driving global warming, the World Health Organization have warned in a new report. 

The WHO report Tobacco: Poisoning Our Planet, published on Tuesday to coincide with World No Tobacco Day, outlined new findings on the extent to which the tobacco industry is harming both the environment and human health. It found that the tobacco industry is responsible for the annual loss of eight million human lives, 600 million trees, 200,000 hectares of land, 22 billion tonnes of water, and releases about 84 million tonnes of CO2 into the Earth’s atmosphere! 

Ruediger Krech (right), WHO director of health promotion even declared the industry as “one of the biggest polluters that we know of”. 

And that “tobacco products are the most littered item on the planet, containing over 7,000 toxic chemicals, which leech into our environment when discarded”, Krech said. 

He pointed out that each one of the estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts that end up in our oceans, rivers, sidewalks and beaches every year can pollute 100 litres of water. 

In addition, products like cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes also contribute significantly to the global build-up of plastic pollution, WHO warned. 

Cigarette filters contain microplastics – the tiny fragments that have been detected in every ocean and even at the bottom of the world’s deepest trench – and make up the second-highest form of plastic pollution worldwide, the report said. 

And yet, despite tobacco industry marketing, WHO stressed that there is no evidence filters provide any proven health benefits over smoking non-filtered cigarettes. 

The UN agency urged policymakers worldwide to treat cigarette filters as single-use plastics, and to consider banning them. 

The WHO also called for the implementation of stronger tobacco taxes – including an environmental tax – and for countries to extend support services to help people quit tobacco.

BAT are Back with a Vengeance

As smoking falls out of fashion, British-American Tobacco are pinning their hopes on younger users of e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches. 

BAT have aggressively embarked on a £1 billion campaign that harnesses the popular appeal of social media influencers, pop stars and even sporting events. 

According to a wide-ranging report by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, they have also attracted younger adults, non-smokers and even reached the eyes of children. They’re hoping to capture the fast-growing stream of revenue from e-cigarettes and vapes – not to mention the nicotine pouches beloved of TikTok influencers. 

BAT make much of how such products are helping adult smokers switch to less harmful alternatives, under the slogan “A Better Tomorrow”. But this is all a farce. 

Nicotine is nicotine, in whatever form it takes! 

By 2023, the company expects to be targeting 500 million nicotine consumers with £100 billion a year to spend. Products other than cigarettes are driving much of that growth. 

Therefore, the time has come for us to stop tolerating these products. 

Yesterday, Everton produced an outstanding Merseyside derby performance to beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time since 1999. 

And Liverpool have now lost four successive home matches for the first time since 1923. 

What’s there to say? Liverpool hit a new low!

Smoking Associated with Covid-19 Progression

There is still a lot of uncertainty about the coronavirus, but one thing we know is that it attacks the lungs. 

That’s why a growing number of doctors and public health officials are urging people to stop smoking and/or vaping during the pandemic.

A University of California, San Francisco study had shown that smoking is associated with substantially higher risk of Covid-19 progression. 

Stanton Glantz (right), a professor of medicine at the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education did a meta-analysis, which looked at 19 peer-reviewed papers from China, South Korea and the United States. It found 30% of smokers developed more severe forms of Covid-19 compared to 17.6% of non-smokers. 

He and his colleagues wrote in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research that “smoking and e-cigarette use increase the risk and severity of pulmonary infections because of damage to upper airways and a decrease in pulmonary immune function in general, although these effects have not yet been studied for SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19”. 

The analysis likely underestimated how smoking affects the risk of contracting the coronavirus in the general population, the authors said, because the studies the analysis is based on were only focused on those who had already developed Covid-19. 

Nonetheless, the authors urged health officials to add smoking cessation for both tobacco and e-cigarette products to the list of steps needed to curb the pandemic, and are advocating for more data collection on smokers and e-cigarette users to see if they’re at greater risk of contracting the disease.

3 Points About Covid-19

I began putting together this blog post upon coming across this cartoon:

I know that Covid-19 poses a health risk – but there's more to life than to be manacled to a disease that attacks the lungs. I recognize too that a significant minority of those infected have serious symptoms, sometimes leading to pneumonia and even death.

But we need to put things in perspective – lest we create a climate of fear and get everybody into a panicky frenzy that benefits nobody. And life as we know it comes to a standstill. 

The first point is Covid-19 is not to be feared. Female mosquitoes, road accidents and smoking probably give Malaysians more opportunities to meet an untimely death.

Besides, the Ministry of Health is doing an exemplary job and their contact tracing is well-executed. Really, Malaysians should be thankful. 

The second point is that there has been NO DEATHS from Covid-19 so far:

Compare this to other deaths in Malaysia. 

A Star news report published December 01, 2019 had highlighted that in that particular year, dengue fever cases in Malaysia reached an all-time high, hitting 119,198 infections recorded as of November 29, 2019:

That worked out to about 359 new cases each day. 

And 162 deaths were recorded. 

Given the grim statistics above, did you know of anybody who had wrapped themselves up so totally that mozzies wouldn’t get any chance to pierce their skin, draw their blood and at the same time, transmit the dengue virus to them? 

According to a Star news report published May 14, 2019, Malaysia has the third highest fatality rate from road traffic accidents in Asia and ASEAN, behind Thailand and Vietnam. 

To put that into numbers, the Global Status Report on Road Safety published by the World Health Organization and the World Bank in December 2018 declared that Malaysia had 7,152 deaths in 2016.

And New Straits Times on February 11, 2018 had reported that 6,740 people perished in road accidents in 2017.

According to The Rakyat Post published July 17, 2019, it mentioned that Bukit Aman Investigation and Traffic Enforcement Director Azisman Alias having said that between January to June 2019, 281,527 accidents had been reported all over the country. 

It didn’t give a nationwide count of those who died from road accidents – although it did draw attention to the fact that both Selangor and Johor recorded the most number of fatalities at 482, followed by Perak with 302 fatalities.

Again, given the grim numbers above, did you know of anybody who gave up driving or riding a motorbike because they fear there is a real possibility of dying as a result of a road accident? 

New Straits Times on October 31, 2018 carried a Bernama report stating that the WHO had estimated that more than 20,000 male adults in Malaysia die every year from complications due to the smoking habit. 

Yet again, given the grim fatality rate, I ask you, did the government ban smoking outright? 

Sure, Covid-19 can potentially kill you – but so can many other things. 

That brings me to my third point. By all means, exercise caution – but as I have repeatedly said, DON’T OVERREACT. 

Life is for living. Let's live, Covid-19 or not.

No-smoking Enforcement at Eateries Starts January 01

January 01, 2020 was also the first day of full enforcement of the no-smoking ruling at eateries in Malaysia. 

Five thousand personnel have been deployed by the Health Ministry and they fanned out nationwide to implement the no-smoking ruling. 

Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the ministry’s officers will be monitoring all no-smoking areas, which come under Regulation 11 (1) (d) of the Tobacco Control Regulation (PPKHT) Regulations 2004 (amended) 2018. 

He said many F&B outlets had since put up the mandatory no-smoking signs at their establishments. And added that the number of smokers in eateries had seen a drastic reduction since the government gazetted those areas as no-smoking zones from Jan 01, 2019. Enforcement is obviously needed and we know only too well that this is so necessary in Malaysia. 

In fact, it has been reported that there are still people who refuse to abide by the smoking ban at eating places. FMT had said that more than 160 smokers (and restaurant owners) were issued compound fine notices for smoking offences yesterday. 

BTW, the public too can lodge complaints or tip-offs to the Health Ministry via WhatsApp at 010 8608949 or by dialing 03 88924530. 

The info required to include details such as the name of the outlet, its address and the type of offence as well as pictures of smokers puffing away in the premises.

An investment tip for 2020:

LOL!

E-ciggies Are Harmful

There’s no two ways about it, e-ciggies are harmful! 

Researchers at University of California San Francisco had analysed data gathered from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH), which tracked e-cigarette and tobacco use and new diagnoses of lung disease in over 32,000 American adults between 2013 and 2016. 

This is said to be the first longitudinal study to link e-cigs to respiratory illness, and using a sample that represents the entire US adult population. 

The research concluded that e-cigarettes are not only harmful on their own, but that the effects are independent of smoking conventional tobacco. Yes, e-cigs could significantly increase the risk of developing chronic lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 

Although previous studies have also found a link between e-cigarette use and lung disease, these studies have looked at a single point in time, which makes it impossible to determine a causal relationship and say whether lung disease was being caused by e-cigarettes or if people with lung disease were more likely to use e-cigarettes. 

The findings of the said study, published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed that current and former e-cigarette users were 1.3 times more likely to develop chronic lung disease, while tobacco smokers were 2.6 times more likely. 

In addition, those who used both e-cigarettes and smoked tobacco – which the research team say was by far the most common pattern that they found among adult e-cigarette users – had triple the risk of developing chronic lung disease than those who used either product alone. 

Senior author Stanton Glantz, PhD said: “Switching from conventional cigarettes to e-cigarettes exclusively could reduce the risk of lung disease, but very few people do it. For most smokers, they simply add e-cigarettes and become dual users, significantly increasing their risk of developing lung disease above just smoking”. 

As Glantz reiterated: “This study contributes to the growing case that e-cigarettes have long-term adverse effects on health and are making the tobacco epidemic worse”.

In the League Cup quarter-final on Tuesday, Aston Villa thrashed Liverpool 5-0. 

Actually, the latter are the Under-23 team with some players only 16 years old. The competition has been called the Mickey Mouse Cup and it pitted Villans who were almost at full strength against the youngest line-up in Liverpool's history whose players’ average age was just 19.48 years. 

Anyway, in spite of the harsh scoreline, the Reds didn't disgrace themselves – they fought bravely and more importantly, they played the Liverpool way.

The real game for us is today where the FIFA Club World Cup gets underway in Qatar.