Vaping linked to heart risk: study
New York State's Department of Health calls e-cigarette use by teens “an epidemic,” noting nearly 1 in 5 high school students is vaping nicotine. Credit: Getty Images / Aleksandr Yu
E-cigarettes have been touted as being safer than regular cigarettes. But safer doesn’t mean safe.
A study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session last month concluded that users of e-cigarettes are “significantly more likely to develop heart failure” compared with people who never used them. Heart failure is a lifelong condition where a weakened heart can’t pump enough blood, triggering debilitating symptoms that make everyday activities such as walking and climbing stairs difficult and can lead to liver or kidney damage.
E-cigarette use, or vaping, has become especially common with younger people. The New York State Department of Health calls e-cigarette use by teens “an epidemic,” noting nearly 1 in 5 high school students is vaping nicotine.
‘Vast network’ of bogus designer sites
About 800,000 people in the United States and Europe have been scammed by “a vast network of fake online designer shops,” according to an investigation by British newspaper The Guardian. The websites, operating from China, offer too-good-to-be-true discounted goods from Dior, Nike, Versace and other designer brands but have in reality “been set up to lure shoppers into parting with money and sensitive personal data,” The Guardian says.
Most don’t want EVs
Self-driving cars and electric vehicles are driving away many Americans. An Economist/YouGov poll found that 58% of U.S. adults would not even consider buying an EV, although 56% would think about purchasing a hybrid car. Meanwhile, a survey by AAA found that 66% were “afraid” of fully self-driving vehicles. But the survey did find that most motorists liked semi-autonomous technologies such as emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance.
Hospitals hit by cyberattack
A cyberattack on the Ascension health system earlier this month caused the postponement of medical procedures and other problems at its 140 hospitals in 19 states. Credit: Getty Images / scanrail
Underscoring the vulnerability of America’s health care system to hackers, a cyberattack on the Ascension health system earlier this month forced some of its hospitals to divert ambulances, caused patients to postpone medical tests and blocked online access to patient records. Some phone services and systems for ordering tests, procedures and medications were also unavailable. Ascension operates 140 hospitals in 19 states, mostly in the South and Midwest. — THE WASHINGTON POST
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
