Mind Soup

photo source   Today, the Lebanese Parliament endorsed a law that bans smoking in public or closed spaces. After years of debate on whether this law should be implemented, it has finally become a reality. Non-smokers have been overjoyed today with the news filling up the social timelines with their expressions of approval. The law also bans any sort of tobacco advertising and promotions and considers them as an illegal act. These include all sorts of advertising media such as billboards, magazine ads, and TV commercials. The law also prevents any tobacco companies from sponsoring events and concerts. In addition to that, all tobacco packs should now depict a pictorial warning of the dangers of smoking that should cover at least 40% of the package. Fines will be imposed on citizens who are caught smoking in public or individuals who violate the smoking ban. Hotels, however, will be able to assign 10-20% of their rooms to smokers. Companies will b...

ENERGY DIMENSION:   We have learned much about our bodies through old wives’ tales handed down from our moms and grandmothers and even in school, but not all of it is correct. Here we look at 10 misconceptions that might surprise you. 1. Warts can be caught from other animals like toads Human warts are caused by a virus that affects only humans, the human pappiloma virus. They cannot be caught by animals with warts and certainly not by toads whose bumps are not warts but glands. 2. Sugar makes children hyperactive False! Twelve controlled, double blind trials have shown that there is absolutely no connection between children’s behavior and their sugar intake. One thing was found, namely that parents rate their child’s behavior as more hyper when they thought they had been given a sugary drink. “The studies included sugar from sweets, chocolate and natural sources. Even in studies of those who were considered “sensitive” to sugar, children did not behave differently after eati...

Under the High Patronage of the First Lady of Lebanon Mrs. WAFAA MICHEL SLEIMAN The Soins Infirmiers et Développement Communautaire (SIDC) is organising, in collaboration with Vivre Positif and the Centre de Santé de l’Université St. Joseph and with the attendance of Miss Lebanon 2010, Ms. Rahaf Abdallah, a concert on the occasion of World AIDS Day. Ms. Grace Deeb   and: Violinist:  Joelle Saadé Pianists:  Vladimir Kurumilian and Liliane Chlela Pop Rock:  The Weirdos The concert’s proceeds will go to support needs people living with HIV (PLHIV) Date and Place: 10 December 2010 at 8:30 at Pierre Abou Khater Auditorium, USJ, Rue de Damas RSVP: contact  info@sidc-lebanon.org  or  call +961 1 482 428, +961480714 Tickets will also be available at the door. Follow SIDC's account on twitter  here

Photo: Mind Soup© I encountered the funniest thing today. While walking alongside the American University Hospital with my friend, I was joking how hospitals don't have valet parking. That didn't last long. A few seconds later, we see a sign for VALET PARKING on the side of the road. Well it might be a good idea for the emergency division where people don't have the time to find a parking, but to think about it clearly, are we really that lazy? Lazy to the extent of having someone park the car at a hospital? And its not cheap either. Personally, I believe that our culture should depend more on one's self. This type of laziness is what is holding us back from actually achieving something. It is enough that we are bringing maids to our homes to cook the meals and raise up the children, but this? How low can we get? Next thing you know, people will start hiring professionals to help them go to the bathroom or shower. What do you guys think?

Population Forecast up to 2050 1- The world currently has 6.9 billion people. It is projected to hit 10 billion people in the year 2050! (right) 2- Parents in Denmark must choose from a list of 7,000 pre-approved names for their babies! 3- The FDA allows an average of 30 insect fragments and one or more rodent hairs per 100 grams of peanut butter. 4- Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy  and that comics of him were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear trousers. 5- In Moscow, weathermen can be fined for inaccurate weather forecasting. 6- You can cure a stomach ache if you lie on your left side for 5 minutes. The stomach is on the left side, the oesophagus enters it on the right and therefore gas bubbles can rise and allow you to burp. 7- A sharon fruit  (Kharma in Arabic) is a persimmon that has been artificially ripened. No, I had no idea what a persimmon was either.

REUTERS : Squirting insulin up the noses of patients with early forms of Alzheimer's disease showed signs of improving their memory, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. Patients who got the treatment for four months showed improvements in tests of memory recall that lasted for two months. "We believe our results are very promising and they warrant future trials," said Dr. Suzanne Craft of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and the University of Washington in Seattle , who presented her findings at a meeting of the Alzheimer's Association in Honolulu. Alzheimer's disease is a fatal and incurable deterioration of the brain that affects 26 million people globally. It is the most common form of dementia . Several studies have suggested that people with Alzheimer's have reduced levels of insulin in the brain, even in the earliest stages. Insulin is important for communication between brain cells and is needed for brain function. ...

MIND SOUP : I am very sure that a lot of you agree with me that the most annoying thing on Lebanese television is these stupid little commercial programs where a supposedly modernized "doctor" is trying to sell the viewers a bunch of herbs that can mysteriously get rid of most diseases, weight loss or whatever disorder the audience might be interested in. What's more annoying is that you not only find them on one television channel, but on several (such as Aljadid - previously "New TV", NBN or what I like to call "Nabih Berri Network", Manar TV, and even Tele Liban, among others) Well, guess what? According to the Daily Star , the Lebanese government (more specifically the General Directorate of General Security) has declared on Monday that advertisements for such medical herbs are now prohibited by law. The directorate based its decision on Law number 90 of June 3, 2010, which prohibited media outlets from advertising for medical herbs and othe...

Below is an opinion piece that will be published in this week’s issue of Outlook, AUB’s official student newspaper. Believe me, I cannot believe I just said that either. Yet, there is a very compelling reason; I have to give credit where credit is due. Syrian President, Bashar al-Asad issued a decree early this April banning smoking inside cafes, restaurants and other public areas. This decree was implemented almost two weeks after, making Syria the first Arab country to implement such a ban in public areas. Moreover, in 1996, Syria banned tobacco advertising while in 2006, a law was passed to outlaw smoking on public transportation and some public areas. According to recent studies, an estimated 42 percent of males and 30 percent of females smoke in Lebanon, a country of around 4 million inhabitants. Most teenagers start the habit of smoking (cigarettes or ‘Nargileh’) due to peer pressure or family traditions. If our society wasn’t as accepting to smoking as it actua...

Smoking using a nargile is very popular in Arab culture Syria has become the first Arab state to implement a ban on smoking in public places, such as restaurants and cafes. The decree also outlaws smoking in educational institutions, health centres, sports halls, cinemas and theatres and on public transport. Workers must not smoke during meetings and businesses need to provide well-ventilated areas for smokers. The restrictions include the nargile, or hubble-bubble pipe, which is popular among locals and tourists. The decree was signed last November by President Bashar al-Assad, a qualified medical doctor. According to the official news agency SANA, fines for violating the ban range from 500 to 100,000 Syrian pounds (US$11 to $2,169). Businesses hit The BBC's Lina Sinjab in Damascus says the ban has upset many in a country heavily addicted to nicotine. In one of the city's traditional cafes, Cafe Rawda, on the first day of the new rules, the inside area was deserted but t...

A Taiwanese man with a history of high blood pressure has died of a stroke that an emergency room doctor says was likely triggered from over-excitement while watching the 3D blockbuster Avatar, AFP reports. The 42-year-old man, who suffered from hypertension, was rushed to the hospital after he began feeling ill during the screening of the movie earlier this month in the Taiwanese city of Hsinchu, AFP says. The man identified only as Kuo was unconscious when he got to Nan Men General Hospital where a scan showed that his brain was hemorrhaging, Dr. Peng Chin-Chih, an emergency room doctor, told AFP. "It's likely that the over-excitement from watching the movie triggered his symptoms," the doctor told AFP. Kuo died 11 days later from the brain hemorrhage.

Step away from the television... TV is not your friend. In fact, according to a new study, it's your mortal enemy. Researchers have discovered that every hour per day spent watching television increases your chance of dying from heart disease by one-fifth. We all know a sedentary lifestyle can lead to disastrous health problems, but this new study shows even the most physically fit are at risk for heart disease when they spend a good amount of time watching TV. "Even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time still has an unhealthy influence on their blood sugar and blood fats," says Professor David Dunstan, the study's lead researcher. Australian scientists, lead by Prof. Dunstan, looked at about 9,000 people over the course of six years, grouping them into categories depending on how much television they watched. The group that watched the most (four or more hours a day) were 80% more likely to develop heart disease and die from ...

A coroner has ruled that Chicago Bears defensive end Gaines Adams died of a heart attack, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter's posting on his Twitter account. Adams, 26, was pronounced dead at 8 a.m. Sunday at a Greenwood County, South Carolina hospital, according to the Greenville News. Selected as the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Adams joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Apparently Adams had an enlarged heart that caused cardiac arrest, according to tweets posted at Schefter and Jason La Canfora's Twitter pages. On Thursday, Southern Indiana senior Jeron Lewis also had an enlarged heart, like Adams, that led to his cardiac arrest during a basketball game at Kentucky Weslyn College. Adams, who played football at Clemson, was considered by many to be a bust at the NFL level and was traded from the Bucs to the Bears last October. The former 2006 ACC Defensive Player of the Year registered 93 tackles, 13 1/2 sacks and two interceptions in four seasons (thr...

From the king of pop to the queen of reality TV, from swine flu to MPs' expenses, these are among the year's most-read stories. There are goodbyes and near-misses, extremes in the weather, and a few light-hearted moments alongside more serious tales. JANUARY Two near misses and a certain Time Lord grabbed the headlines in January. It was new year, new Doctor, as  Matt Smith was named  as the actor to take over from David Tennant in Doctor Who. At 27, he will be the youngest to take on the role when he appears on TV in 2010. A pilot ditched an Airbus A320 in the Hudson River after a double bird strike Attention turned to Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who  wrote off his Ferrari  in a crash near Manchester Airport but walked away unscathed. Another lucky escape attracted plenty of attention when  a pilot crash-landed an airliner  in New York's Hudson River after birds disabled its engines. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued....

Brittany Murphy, the star of such films as Clueless and 8 Mile, has died, her publicist and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have confirmed. The cause of death, reportedly, was cardiac arrest. Murphy was 32. “In this time of sadness, the family thanks you for your love and support,” the actress’ publicist, Nicole Perna, said in a statement. “It is their wish that you respect their privacy.” A hospital spokeswoman said Murphy was pronounced dead at 10:04 a.m. TMZ says a 911 call was made this morning from a home in Los Angeles that is listed as belonging to her husband, Simon Monjack. TMZ later reported that Murphy’s mother found the actress unconscious in the shower. A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office would only say it received a preliminary report of a death at Cedars-Sinai and is investigating the matter. Born in Atlanta, Ga. and raised by her divorced mother, Sharon, in New Jersey, Murphy began her performing career early. She nabbed a singing role at age 9 in Le...