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A third of intensive care beds at weekends are taken up by patients critically ill from alcohol, according to the NHS’s head of critical care. Dr. Bob Winter said it had become socially acceptable for people to drink themselves into an “anesthetized state” on Friday and Saturday nights, and he also warned of the trend of “front-loading”—becoming intoxicated before going out. The prices at supermarkets and off-licenses were so cheap it was possible to buy enough alcohol to “die from” with a £10 note, he added. Dr. Winter called for an urgent change in the culture of drinking and said...

First lady Michelle Obama has vowed to help “confused and bewildered” moms wandering aimlessly in the aisles of America’s grocery stores. The help won’t come in lower prices, but in redesigned nutrition labels that will bold calories and “added sugar” and will more accurately describe serving sizes, according to CNS News. “As consumers and as parents, we have a right to understand what’s in the food we’re feeding our families,” Obama said Thursday in a press conference at the White House. “Because that’s really the only way that we can make informed choices — by having clear, accurate information.” Fresh...

Students who arrive in State College on Saturday for the annual State Patty's Day drinking holiday will find the majority of downtown restaurants and taverns closed or dry, Penn State officials say. Damon Sims, Penn State's vice president for student affairs, said 33 of 35 downtown State College establishments, including all taverns and bottle shops, have agreed to accept monetary compensation offered by the university for a moratorium of the sale of alcohol Saturday.

The US Environmental Protection Agency issued final Tier 3 emissions control requirements for motor fuels and vehicles to meet by Jan. 1, 2017. The regulations address one major concern from refiners by keeping sulfur limits per gallon at existing levels, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said. “Frankly, what [the American Petroleum Institute] and others were relying on was an outdated estimate based on what they thought we’d propose, not what we actually proposed let alone what we actually put in the regulation following public hearings and extensive public comments,” McCarthy said during a Mar. 4 teleconference. “The per gallon sulfur cap...

BOISE, Idaho — Millions in tax revenue from Idaho's cigarette sales is closer to flowing toward the state's scarred-up highway asphalt and its drought-depleted aquifers. The House voted 63-4 on Friday to redirect cash from the state's 56 cent-per-pack tax — it has totaled about $35 million to $40 million annually — that's currently being used to retire bonds for the $130 million Idaho Capitol renovation, as well as funding cancer programs, state buildings and juvenile probation. With the Capitol bonds nearly paid off, there's been a scramble this session for the money that's no longer needed.

Claiming that “America’s moms are confused and bewildered by the task of selecting from a wide array of non-standardized options when it comes to feeding their families,” First Lady Michelle Obama made a plea for more rigorous government control over what’s available for purchase. “Reading the labels of multiple alternatives for a single food item is, at best, time consuming,” Michelle complained. “Understanding these labels is also daunting. Is there any mom who can be expected to know how to choose wisely?” The First Lady suggested that “if nutrition experts were to oversee what’s available we could simplify the process...

A doughnut shop chain won't be selling doughnuts at a new Massachusetts location. Quincy's licensing board this week approved a plan for Honey Dew Donuts to open a shop inside the city's new $30 million YMCA. Sara Trubiano, YMCA spokeswoman tells The Patriot Ledger that the elimination of the sweet treat fit with the the Y's focus on physical fitness. “It’s definitely tailored to the healthy lifestyle the Y supports,” she said.

By now you know the Food and Drug Administration, in conjunction with effort by First Lady Michelle Obama, proposed new food labeling. The proposed labels would shift the focus from fats to calories, and honest serving sizes. The thinking is new labels would prompt shame and embarrassment on to food companies forcing them to create healthier products. I appreciate Michelle Obama's efforts to get children to exercise more, but this scheme dovetails into the truer agenda of removing responsibility from the person to the evil corporation. A representative from the FDA said "No food company wants to look bad," so...

For many, bottomless drinks are the cornerstone of any delicious (if not nutritious) urban brunch.  But the New York State Liquor Authority is determined to kill boozy brunchers’ buzz.Yes, the state of the soda ban is cracking down on more than calorie consumption. The NYC Hospitality Alliance sent out an alert Monday to its member restaurants reminding them of a prohibition against “selling, serving, delivering or offering to patrons an unlimited number of drinks during any set period of time for a fixed price.”Is the State Liquor Authority seriously enforcing this prohibition?  Unfortunately, the answer is “yes.” The New York...

Bill S142-2013 Requires persons in parental relation with a child of elementary school age to attend parent support instruction programs Requires persons in parental relation with a child of elementary school age to attend parent support programs; completion of four workshops one of which shall be related to physical, emotional and sexual abuse of children, shall be a requirement for the child's advancement to seventh grade...

California Gov. Jerry Brown says he will seek re-election. […] Polls show Republicans in the race so far remain unknown to many Californians. …

Those who lollygag in the left lane of highways and interstates could be ticketed under legislation approved in the state House on Wednesday. House Bill 459, by Rep. Bill Hitchens, R-Rincon, was approved 162-9. The bill makes it a misdemeanor for any driver on a divided highway who does not move to the right when a car going faster approaches from behind.

It’s not just about what America’s kids are getting in the lunch line. The Obama administration is moving to phase out junk food advertising on football scoreboards and elsewhere on school grounds—part of a broad effort to combat child obesity and create what Michelle Obama calls “a new norm” for today’s schoolchildren and future generations. “This new approach to eating and activity is not just a fad,” Mrs. Obama said Tuesday as she described the proposed rules at the White House. Promotion of sugary drinks and junk foods around campuses during the school day would be phased out under the...

The Obama administration laid out new restrictions on the marketing of junk food and sugary drinks in schools on Tuesday. The new rules from the White House and the Department of Agriculture prohibit advertisements for unhealthy foods on school campuses during the school day, including sugary drinks that account for 90 percent of such ads in school. An ad for regular Coca-Cola, for example, would be banned from appearing on a scoreboard at a high school football game, though ads for Diet Coke and Dasani water, owned by the same company, would be allowed. Junk food ads like a Coca-Cola...

Lawmakers in Utah and Colorado are promoting legislation to raise the legal age for tobacco use to 21, a higher standard than imposed by any other state, saying they want to discourage young people from picking up a lifelong smoking habit. Supporters say keeping tobacco out of the hands of young adults will save thousands of lives, even as critics complain that Americans who are old enough to vote and serve in the military should not be deemed too young to decide on their own if they should smoke. In a dramatic display of the risks of smoking, lawmakers in...

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time on Friday used its authority under a 2009 law to remove cigarettes from stores.The FDA is forcing Jash International to stop selling and distributing its line of Sutra Bidi tobacco products in the U.S., and is giving retailers 30 days to pull the products from shelves. ADVERTISEMENT “Existing inventory may be subject to enforcement action, including seizure, without further notice,” the FDA said in a release. “Companies that continue to sell and distribute these products in the United States may be subject to enforcement actions by the FDA.”The FDA said...

The office of First Lady Michelle Obama is taking credit for moving the nation "towards a new, healthier norm," according to a press release celebrating the four year anniversary of the "Let's Move" initiative."This week, First Lady Michelle Obama will kick off a celebration around the fourth anniversary of Let’s Move!, her initiative to ensure that all our children grow up healthy and reach their full potential," reads the release. Today, we are moving toward a healthier future and this movement is becoming the new norm all across the country.  From child care centers through high school, from sun up to sun...

Are you now, or have you ever been, a shill for Coca-Cola? A conservative think tank denounced Tuesday a nutritional advocacy group for its attacks on Olympic figure skater legend Michelle Kwan for being a pusher of soft drinks while sitting on President Obama’s fitness council, while the group doubled down on its position. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) had said Miss Kwan’s dual roles as a Coca-Cola “ambassador” to the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, and her membership on the Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition were “unacceptable.” It “cannot be reconciled, since Coca-Cola and...

The last time Lou Pelletier spoke with his 15-year-old daughter was Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day. For this father of four, though, the day held a different meaning for his youngest valentine: It marked one year since she was taken and placed in a psychiatric ward against her parents’ will. “We need help,” Lou Pelletier told TheBlaze in an exclusive interview, explaining why he made the decision to break a judge’s gag order and talk about the situation. “I’m trying to save my daughter’s life,” he said. “While still being able to live,” Jessica, one of Justina’s older sisters, added....

The transformation of America is proceeding apace this week, with the Obama Administration clearing the way for banks to legally get involved with drug dealers. The Justice Department and Treasury Department on Friday issued guidelines for banks and other financial service companies to get involved with marijuana growers and distributors in states where the drug is legal. Washington and Colorado in January became the first two states to completely legalize pot. Other states, such as California, have legalized "medicinal" marijuana. The new guidelines were intended to allow banks to serve pot distributors while still ensuring the legitimacy of the businesses...