A Lot of Smoke

Smokers may be on the run everywhere else, but on the silver screen, they’re back to their glory days. Although in decline for three decades, smoking in movies has returned to levels comparable to those in the 1960s--before the first surgeon general’s report warned about the dangers of tobacco, according to a recent study from UC San Francisco. Researchers found that cigarettes were used once every five minutes in the ‘60s; about once every 10 to 15 minutes in the ‘70s and ‘80s; and about once every three to five minutes in the ‘90s. Good thing screens don’t generate secondhand smoke.

You Must Remember This

Are baby boomers starting to lose their treasured memories? Probably not, though they might think so, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. While such vivid memories aren’t close to fading for boomers, the incidence of forgetting everyday things may have increased slightly. But don’t worry about losing your memory unless a number of other people comment on it, researchers say. In the meantime, you can improve your memory by following these tips: Pay attention, work at remembering, repeat things if necessary, and skip the hallucinogenic drugs at any reunion party.

Veggie King

If you want to get the most bang for your nutrition buck, you might want to try our friend the sweet potato. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, it’s the most nutritious vegetable. The foodstuff, which is actually a root, ranked highest in Vitamin A, C, iron, calcium, copper and fiber. In order to get one sweet potato’s worth of beta carotene, someone would have to eat 23 cups of broccoli, according to Prime Health & Fitness magazine. How long before we hear a commercial that says, “Hey, Mom, I guess sweet potatoes aren’t just for Thanksgiving anymore”?

Sneezing Cats and Dogs

Do Fido and Fluffy give you uncontrollable sneezing fits? Millions of people suffer from some kind of allergic reactions to the nation’s two most popular pets. However, a new product from Allergy Research Laboratories called Sneeze No More (one specifically for cats and another for dogs) promises to neutralize the problem. To beat the allergies, you have to spray the area where the pets live and play every two months. If only they could develop an allergy spray for the great outdoors. For information, visit the Web site at https://www.sneezenomore.com, or call (770) 622-5857.