Chinese Governments Addicted to Tobacco (by Qiu Quanlin, Duan Yan, and Cui Jia at China Daily – 31 October 2011) – Money is at the center of the problem when it comes banning smoking in public – lack of legislation and huge profits make ban hard to enforce
World Population Not Only Grows, but Grows Old (by Joel Achenbach at The Washington Post – 30 October 2011) – People may have to extend their working lives far beyond the traditional retirement age and countries may start competing for immigrants
Panel Lowers Limit of Radiation in Food (by Jun Hongo at The Japan Times – 29 October 2011) – Japanese government lowers the allowable amount of radiation in food products from 5 millisieverts per year to 1
Flu Vaccine Not as Effective as Thought (by Meredith Melnik at Time – 26 October 2011) – Study concludes that most flu vaccines provide only moderate protection against influenza and in some years barely make a difference at all
In the US, Industry Decides Food Ingredient Safety (by Garance Burke at The Associated Press – 26 October 2011) – Since the 1960’s, private companies and industry trade associations have determined at least 3,000 ingredients are safe without federal scrutiny
Study Links BPA Exposure in Womb to Behavior Problems in Toddler Girls (by Dina ElBoghdady at The Washington Post – 24 October 2011) – Under pressure from consumers, companies are voluntarily removing the chemical BPA from plastic food packaging
US Panel Urges Nutrition Rating System for Food Labels (by Molly Peterson at Bloomberg – 21 October 2011) – Labels should rate sodium, sugar and fat content on a scale of zero to three with standardized labels displaying calorie count per serving
New Guidelines for Cervical Cancer Screening (by Marilynn Marchione at The Associated Press – 19 October 2011) – Experts are united in the view that the common practice of getting a Pap test every year is too often and probably doing more harm than good
GMO Crops Promote Superweeds, Food Insecurity and Pesticides, Say NGOs (John Vidal at The Guardian – 19 October 2011) – Genetic engineering has failed to increase the yield of any food crop but has vastly increased the use of chemicals and the growth of superweeds
Western Lifestyle Leads to Rise in Breast Cancer Rates (by Shan Juan at China Daily – 17 October 2011) – International experts say the burden of breast cancer is shifting to low-income countries as Westerners now choose healthier lifestyles
Short Bouts of Exercise Pay Dividends (Erin Allday at the San Francisco Chronicle – 14 October 2011) – The average adult could live three years longer by walking 6 1/2 hours a month
China’s Next Revolution Is in Fitness (Tom Sims at The New York Times – 12 October 2011) – 20 years ago, physical education grades counted for nothing but today, but they are a factor in overall scores like math, history and language
US Government Pulls Back on Junk Food Marketing Proposal (Mary Clare Jalonick at The Associated Press – 12 October 2011) – Officials back off voluntary guidelines that apply to food packaging and store displays so brand icons can remain untouched
Can saving your cash save the planet? (Graham Readfearn at The Sydney Morning Herald – 4 October 2011) – Deforestation, greenhouse gases, food shortages, pollution and loss of biodiversity are symptoms of a planet running on a deficit
Paris Tests Short-Term Rentals of Electric Cars (By David Jolly at the New York Times – 3 October 2011) – The mayor of Paris and a billionaire investor have begun to reimagine urban mobility and improve air quality
