Free Republic

With a rash of vaping-related lung illnesses across the nation, including one death in New York State, Governor Cuomo is looking to ban flavored nicotine products. "The priority, I believe, is vaping. That's young people. That's young people who are dying," Cuomo said. But smoking still kills and sickens far more people. There are roughly 28,000 deaths from smoking in New York State each year, and roughly 750,000 people are living with smoking-related illnesses. Lawmakers are looking to ban menthol cigarettes in New York State, which often are marketed to young people, and African-Americans. "Over 80% of African-Americans prefer to...

President Obama, making his first trip to C.I.A. headquarters, acknowledged Monday that agency officials had expressed ‘’understandable anxiety and concern” about his decision to release confidential memos detailing brutal interrogation techniques used by agency operatives, and urged employees not to be discouraged about the ensuing uproar. “Don’t be discouraged by what’s happened in the last few weeks,” the president said. “Don’t be discouraged that we have to acknowledge potentially we’ve made some mistakes. That’s how we learn.” Mr. Obama banned the harsh techniques on his second day in office, and he acknowledged that his decision may have made the job...

<p>But the Sgt. Akbar portrayed by military officials and reporters in Kuwait is entirely different. He is suspected of rolling three grenades into the tents of his military supervisors and shooting a fellow soldier in the back, killing him as he came out of a tent.</p>

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...