More Reasons to Quit Smoking (Reasons 11 Through 20)

If reasons 1 through 10 were not enough... here are a few more reasons
to consider a non-smoking lifestyle :)

11. Enjoy chocolate more. Women who smoke are less sensitive to
sweet flavors like chocolate.
12. Live longer. Each cigarette smoked is said to cut eleven
minutes from your expected life span. (I should either be dead already
or was gonna live to see 500!)
13. Keep your walls their original paint color instead of the
yellow stained hues that are next to impossible to remove.
14. Keep your original hair color. Smokers are more likely to
go prematurely gray.
15. Keep your original hair. Male smokers are twice as likely
to bald as non-smokers.
16. Decrease your risk of depression.
17. Protect your pets. They suffer from second hand smoke too!
Pets in smoke-filled homes are at risk of developing oral cancers,
lymphoma, lung cancer and nasal cancers.
18. Stay healthy. Smokers are sick an average of 11 more days a
year than non-smokers.
19. No more lil round burn holes in your clothing or on your car seats.
20. Be nagged less. I dunno about you...? But my family and
pretty much everyone I know considers it an act of love -- or their
civic duty -- to nag me about quitting. I figure the longer I stay
quit, the more peace and quiet I will enjoy... could happen! Or more
likely they'll find something else to nag me about.

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Medical Marijuana headed to the nation's capital?

Fourteen states have legalized medical marijuana in the 14 years since California became the first to do so; several more are working on legislation now. DC City Council Member has introduced Initiative 59 with the co-sponsorship of nine of 13 fellow council members. According to Catania, the evidence suggests a legitimate medical use for the stimulation of appetite and reduction of pain.

Policy details such as how many marijuana dispensaries to allow, whether the dispensaries will be nonprofit or private, which diseases prescription marijuana will cover, and where medical marijuana will be grown remain to be worked out. A DC city council spokesman says the bill is likely to get through the council by late spring, and is expected to be approved by Congress by the end of summer.

Studies have found medical cannabis to be effective in alleviating nausea, stimulating the appetite in AIDS and cancer patients and acting as a general pain reliever. The American Medical Association "calls for further adequate and well-controlled studies of marijuana and related cannabinoids in patients" in a policy statement that takes a cautious position on the issue.

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Erica Rhodes: Whip Smart 'Barney' kid onto Hollywood

Erica Rhodes, formerly a cast member of ''Barney and Friends'' auditions for Season 9 of American Idol in a dominatrix costume, complete with whip!

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Reasons to Quit Smoking (Reasons 1 Through 10)

If you need some help coming up with a list of reasons to quit smoking, here are some of mine, beginning with where it hurt me the most. My wallet! Feel free to add yours!

1. You won't have to pay more and more and more and more each year as cigarette taxes continue to rise. Lawmakers have finally figured out that price increases cause smokers to reduce consumption... and the medical costs of smokers are a huge burden to states.
2. You'll inhale fewer germs with your smoke. Apparently cigarettes are crawling with germs. BLUGH!!
3. You'll sleep better. Nightly nicotine withdrawal disturbs regular sleep cycles.
4. Quitting is a great excuse to play video games. Its been found that playing online games distracts smokers!
5. Nonsmokers have stronger bones than smokers. Women lose 2.3% to 3.3% of bone mineral density for every 10 pack-years of tobacco use. The effects are worse in postmenopausal women.
6. Enjoy your food more. Smoking diminishes the taste of food and the pleasure of eating.
7. Eat less. Despite the well-known muting of taste buds, smoking does contribute to weird food cravings and is associated with greater calorie intake, mostly from foods higher in saturated fats and cholesterol.
8. Preserve your sense of smell. About twice as many smokers as nonsmokers have a reduced sense of smell.
9. Avoid that attractive "yellow fingers" look. Smoking can permanently stain your fingers.
10. You'll be less wrinkly. After 10 years, smoking can speed up your skin's aging process by narrowing your skin's blood vessels and damaging the tissues that give the skin its strength and elasticity.

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You Can Be a Quitter Too!

Well... 30 years after I started smoking during sophomore year in
college, I have FINALLY kicked the smoking habit! So how did I manage to
quit a 2-pack a day smoking habit when I'd tried quitting quite a few
times before? Frankly I'm not sure. I "think" that I finally got tired
of the expense... both to my wallet and my health.

Oddly enough, I thought the first cigarette I smoked was gross. The
only reason I started was because I hated the smell! Yep - I
discovered that I didn't smell the yucky smoke when I lit up with
everyone else! Dumb huh? (sigh)

What made this time different from a practical perspective was that I
took action beforehand. Not like stocking up on lollipops so I would
have something to do with my hands. I really thought hard about the
reasons to quit and the reasons not to quit. I thought through how I
would fill the time I used to spend smoking. And... I started walking.
Half an hour every day. I figured that if I could stick with a 30
minute walk every day for one month... no matter what... that maybe I
had the persistence to stick with a "quit smoking" plan too.

After 30 days of walking for 30 minutes every day, I put out my last
cigarette. I still miss it from time to time. Still take a brisk walk
when it gets a little intense. Still try on occasion to come up with a
good rationalization for falling off the wagon. But have not done it
yet. The list of reasons to quit are very long. The list of reasons
not to quit ... well... there's only one... "I want a cigarette". And
somehow that doesn't quite measure up to the long list of reasons
there are to STAY quit.

So how bout it? Try making your own list and see if you can be a quitter too ;)

How to Quit Smoking

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Michael Lynche Cut from Idol's Top 24

"Big Mike" Lynche was cut from American Idol's Top 24 last weekend thanks to his dad. Apparently dad blabbed to the local "St Pete Times" to confirm Mike's selection, a blatant violation of the confidentiality agreement. All is not a total loss. Mike did wind up with a contract from a small recording studio. Hard to believe that his Idol career is over before we even got to meet him!

Michael Lynche

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Filipinos do it again!

Sony Entertainment has released a "This is It" video performed by the Philippines Cebu Provisional Jail inmates as part of the launch of Jackson's "This is It'' DVD. The inmates worked with Travis Payne, Jackson's choreographer, on this follow up to their 2007 "Thriller", as well as with professional dancers Daniel Celebre and Dreis Reid.

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