Humanity

I find it really annoying when people smoke cigarettes outside of buildings downtown

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I find it really annoying when people smoke cigarettes outside of buildings downtown … 🚭

Not only is cigarette smoking unhealthy, it smells really bad for people passing by, going out for a walk, not wanting to breathe in your second hand smoke. Cigarette smoking is fine in a suburban backyard or a rural area, but it shouldn’t be allowed out in front of tall buildings downtown or near bus stops where people are either going for a walk, or just trying to catch a bus somewhere.

A complete ban on smoking downtown, would reduce the amount of second-hand smoke people are forced to breathe in, while forcing smokers to either quit, or risk being arrested and fined. While I don’t think that it makes sense to ban all tobacco products, if they prohibited smoking in public places, it would greatly reduce the nuisance and health impacts of smoking in dense urban areas.

Why the Feds Still Use ‘Marihuana’ Spelling

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Why the Feds Still Use ‘Marihuana’ Spelling

"Marijuana" and "marihuana" were both used in Mexican Spanish speech at the time, and so US anti-drug officials decided to hijack both spellings to turn people off to smoking pot by "[exploiting] prejudice against despised minority groups, especially Mexican immigrants," medical marijuana activist Martin Lee notes in a 2013 book he wrote on the subject. Maybe by chance, the "h" spelling ended up being the version that landed in the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, as well as in the Controlled Substances Act decades later. So why did the "h" start getting phased out in the '60s? Experts aren't sure, but one theory is that as more Americans caught on to the pronunciation of Spanish words, the "j" became more commonplace. The Post notes that even "marijuana" may be falling out of grace, with drug advocates and researchers pushing to go back to the simple and non-loaded "cannabis." (Read more marijuana stories.)

Copper is great at killing superbugs – so why don’t hospitals use it?

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Copper is great at killing superbugs – so why don’t hospitals use it?

Fantasilandia in Chile, one of Latin America’s largest theme parks, has replaced its most frequently touched surfaces with copper to help reduce the spread of germs and protect the health of its visitors. But why? Because copper and its alloys exhibit impressive antibacterial, antiviral and anti-fungal properties.

Copper has been exploited for health purposes since ancient times. Egyptian and Babylonian soldiers would sharpen their bronze swords (an alloy of copper and tin) after a battle, and place the filings in their wounds to reduce infection and speed healing.

Corona-virus should help boost sales of brass door handles.

Coronavirus and the Terrifying Muzzling of Public Health Experts – Union of Concerned Scientists

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Coronavirus and the Terrifying Muzzling of Public Health Experts – Union of Concerned Scientists

The Trump administration is scrambling to reconcile the president’s contradictions of statements made by federal health scientists about the emerging coronavirus crisis. Their solution: muzzle scientists, require that all statements be politically vetted through Vice President Pence, and punish federal employees who draw attention to gross negligence. This is a highly dangerous power grab that undermines both emergency response and public faith in the reliability of information coming out of the government. And it speaks to the incompetence and incoherence of the response to this crisis so far.

It’s hard to keep track of the number of Trump appointees who should know basic facts about the coronavirus but don’t. Then yesterday, we learned that the actual public health experts in government would no longer be allowed to speak publicly about the outbreak without the vice president’s blessing.