112-Year-Old Nepal Woman Smokes 30 Cigarettes A Day

An 112-year-old woman in Nepal claims that smoking 30 cigarettes a day is in some way the cause of her living for so many years. 

 

However she does go on to stress her cigarettes are natural and are not one of the chemical-laden, store bought brands.

 

As we all well know, smoking is not good for your health – except, apparently, in the case of 112-year-old Batuli Lamichhane, who started puffing away at the age of 17. Since then Lamichhane has been smoking the equivalent of more than a pack of cigarettes every day of her very long life ... read the whole story

Colorado enjoys some new members-only pot clubs

Marijuana smokers in Denver now have somewhere to go to light up, relax and enjoy themselves with friends. While pot is not sold there, members are free to bring it and smoke it, after paying a membership fee.

Less than a month after Colorado's governor signed into law a constitutional amendment allowing recreational pot use, the pot clubs have started springing up. While it might sound a little like the famous coffee shops in Amsterdam, there is a difference, as in Colorado, the sale of marijuana is prohibited. It is a case of bring your own and light up. 

 

One of the clubs is Club 64, named after the constitutional amendment, which is located in an industrial area near downtown Denver. The club opened on Monday and 200 people signed up. The admission fee is $29.99, to enjoy reggae music and disco lights, and a few snacks, while smoking your own pot

 

Club 64 was created by Chloe Villano, whose Cloverleaf Business Solutions consults with medical marijuana businesses, and who is excited by the response. She told AP, "Look at this! We were so scared because we didn't want it to be crazy. But this is crazy! People want this."

 

According to the Denver Post another, similar pot club opened earlier on Monday in Del Norte, a small southern Colorado Town. The club is attached to the White Horse Inn coffee shop on US Highway 160.

 

Mark Couch, spokesman for the state Task Force on the Implementation of Amendment 64 said, "Nothing in the amendment language permits consuming (marijuana) openly and publicly."

 

While the marijuana amendment prohibits public consumption, the private clubs are permissible by law. Robert Corry, attorney for Club 64 says that this is because the marijuana is not sold, nor is it considered to be food or drink.  

 

Corry said, "It's just a place for adults to exercise their constitutional rights together. We're not selling pot here." "We're making it safe for people," Corry added. "There are a lot of people who, for one reason or another, can't smoke at home."

 

According to Villano, the pot club will be meeting on a monthly basis at different locations, and the membership fee of $29.99 is payable each time. "People are social by nature," said Villano, "It's important at this time to provide a safe place for them to associate and celebrate this new freedom." 

 

 The first location was a hemp-based clothing store near downtown Denver. Clothing was pushed aside and a few small tables were added. A big screen was showing "The Big Lebowski". A bar, decorated with Christmas lights, gave out sodas and the official snacks of Club 64, Goldfish and Cheetos. The snacks are a pun on the words of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, who sent a warning to marijuana users on the night of the vote, saying "don't break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly." 

 

One of the new Club 64 members, Joe Valenciano, heard about Club 64 the day before and immediately signed up to celebrate the New Year there. "We need more clubs like this," Valenciano said.

 

According to amendment 64, it is now legal for people 21 and older to possess one ounce of marijuana. They can also grow up to six marijuana plants and are allowed to give marijuana to another adult. And now, it seems, they have somewhere to socialize and smoke it with friends.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/340267

Russian government approves harsh anti-tobacco ban for 2015

Russia has finally caught up with the rest of the world, and smokers now have a couple of years to give up the habit, before harsh anti-smoking legislation comes into effect during 2015. 

Should this legislation pass, smoking will be prohibited in any public place, including restaurants and cafes. Many efforts have been made in the past to impose smoking bans, without success. 

However, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has been persistent in pushing for this legislation. Addressing ministers after the discussion, he said, “This is a big problem and we are too careless about it.”

“We have to move towards civilization, like the rest of the world. And this will bring in an effect that will be measured in human lives,” he added.

Reasons for pushing the ban are clear - every third person in Russia is a smoker, and according to statistics this makes up some 44 million smokers in the country. 

Russia's Minister of Health, Veronika Skvortsova, says that the health benefits from just 10% of these smokers giving up the habit would bring an additional $3,5 billion into Russia's budget in 2013. According to health officials, around 400,000 are afflicted each year by smoking-related illnesses. 

As stated in the video, it is unsure what will happen to people who ignore the smoking ban. Medvedev says that the legislation is not a governmental war on smokers, but on smoking itself. Government officials are getting ready for what they say will be a “battle” with the powerful tobacco lobby in Russia.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Public Chamber member and former Duma deputy Maxim Mischenko said, “We will face an enormous amount of difficulties, particularly in the State Duma, and people will attempt to emasculate this bill.” 

 British-American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco International account for around 90% of the Russian tobacco-related market, which makes this the second largest in the world behind China. According to Health Ministry statistics, Russians spent over 4 billion rubles (about $130 million) on tobacco products in 2011 alone. 

The anti-tobacco ban would stop smoking in state offices, education, medical, sports and cultural facilities, in public transportation, on playgrounds and in public areas in residential buildings, making things a little hard on the tobacco addict. 

Starting from July 2014, there will be no smoking allowed in hotels, markets and stores, and on long distance trains and planes. 

Finally, in 2015, the ban will be brought in for restaurants and cafes. There will also be a prohibition on advertising of tobacco products. 

The draft has now been approved by the government and now goes on for approval by the Russian State Duma and then by the Federation Council.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/335104

Private charged in Russian military range shell blasts

An army conscript has confessed to ignoring the ban on smoking in explosion-risk areas of the military base and has been charged with causing the massive explosions near Orenburg, Russia on Tuesday. 

Digital Journal reported on the explosions in Central Russia's Orenburg region, where 4,000 tons of shells were detonated, causing broken windows in surrounding buildings and the evacuation of nearby towns.

It has now been confirmed that a cigarette was the cause of the blasts. 

Military investigators have brought criminal charges against Private Aleksandr Kasatkin over the explosions at the Donguz range on Tuesday.  

Representatives of the Military Investigative Department of the Russian Investigative Committee told Interfax on Thursday that Kasatkin “surrendered to military detectives in the course of the preliminary inquiry.” 

The report continued that “he and a fellow serviceman ignored the ban on smoking in explosion-risk places” when unloading munitions at the missile artillery depot. Investigators said that “he dropped a cigarette butt on the ground without making sure that it was extinguished. Ten minutes later several crates with munitions caught fire.”  

In the blast on Tuesday, more than 4,000 tons of ammunition exploded at a disposal site in Russia's Orenburg region causing a temporary evacuation of residents in the area. The explosions left two 300m-wide holes in the ground, and apparently blew the missile depot apart. 

The blasts reportedly injured an officer, who suffered bruising. Kasatkin faces three years in prison if convicted.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/334657