Thursday is the Great American Smokeout, the American Cancer Society’s annual day of encouraging people to kick the tobacco habit, and the Shasta County Tobacco Education Coalition has suggestions to help.
If you’re trying to quit smoking, make a big deal of the day, marking your calendar and telling all your friends and relatives. Get rid of all ashtrays and cigarettes, and have treats like carrot sticks and hard candy available instead. Set up a support system to keep you away from temptation.
Different methods work for different smokers. Nicotine patches, drugs and special gums all are available. Keep trying stuff until you find something that works. It’s worth it.
For Shasta County resources, call 229-8467. The California Smokers’ Helpline is 1-800-NO-BUTTS.
- Mark Your Calendars for Monday, when the Shasta College Art Gallery opens the 60th Annual Art Faculty Show. The FREE 15-artist show runs through Dec. 11. An artists’ reception is planned for Dec. 2. For more info, call 242-7730.
- Right-wingers are blustering over President Obama’s bow of greeting to the emperor of Japan, but elsewhere in the world, people don’t understand what all the fuss is about. When in Japan, bowing is simple good manners. A Tokyo-based reporter for the British newspaper The Guardian sums it up nicely here.
- Once again, I’ve been overlooked. People magazine picks Johnny Depp as its Sexiest Man Alive. When, oh, when, will plump and hairy come back into fashion?
- Strangest story of the day has to be the one in USA Today about the resurgence of the Afghan sport of buzkashi, in which horsemen battle over the headless carcass of a goat. The Afghanis want to make it an Olympic event. I kid you not. Full story here.
Tips appreciated: Send news tidbits to steveb.anewscafe@gmail.com.
