The Courier-Mail of Australia reports: "THE four senior crew members of the Pong Su risked running the massive cargo ship aground by dropping anchor less than 1km from land on Victoria’s Shipwreck Coast so they could ferry 150kg of heroin ashore in a small dinghy. Crown prosecutor John Champion SC told the Victorian Supreme Court yesterday that the Pong Su, which had carried the heroin from North Korea to Australia in April 2003, would never have ventured so close to the rocky shoreline had those responsible for the ship’s movements not been involved in a criminal enterprise."
Pregnancy Crawler reports on a study from Obstetrics and Gynecology that indicates: "The use of nicotine substitutes (nicotine gum, patches or inhalers) during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy appears to slightly increase the risk of birth defects, according to a large study of pregnant women and their offspring. Dr. Maria M. Morales-Suarez-Varela, from the University of Valencia in Spain, and others interviewed 76,768 women between weeks 11 and 25 of pregnancy regarding their smoking habits and use of nicotine replacement products during the first 12 weeks."
The Arizona Star reports on a state lawmaker who wants to lower the acceptable Blood Alcohol Content from 0.08 to 0.05 for anyone who already has a DUI: "A state lawmaker wants to lower the legal blood-alcohol limit for those who repeatedly drink and drive, something already done in 23 other states. Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, wants the legal limit lowered to 0.05 from 0.08 for anyone convicted of more than one DUI in five years. He’s working closely with the Arizona chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving to craft a bill that would have no tolerance for anyone convicted of an extreme DUI — driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.15. "
Inhaling vaporized alcohol combined with oxygen is the latest way to get drunk quickly AND reduce carbs. <sheesh> And it has a lot of states upset; Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Arizona and Michigan have banned the devices and Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are considering bans.
The BBC reports on a study of swedish pricing patterns over a period of 10 years.
"Increasing the price of alcohol does not necessarily cut consumption, according to a study. A team at the US Prevention Research Center looked at alcohol sales in Sweden between 1984 and 1994. They said the market was complex and that sometimes price rises led to consumers drinking more as they switched to cheaper brands. The researchers called for cheaper drinks to be targeted for price rises, the journal Alcoholism reported."
The FDA has given conditional approval for an injectable naltrexone hydrochloride preparation to help people with alcohol problems. More from Join Together. For people with alcohol problems, naltrexone helps to reduce the high from alcohol as well as the craving. Naltrexone can also be used in the treatment of opioid dependence.
Fox News has a suggestion for your New Year’s resolutions, well some of you… . "Eating a small amount of dark chocolate improves smokers’ artery function in hours, and a few squares a day may reduce the risk of hardening of the arteries."
An ounce a day folks, that’s all! Of course, it must be noted that it was Swiss chocolate… .