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Why planes still have no smoking signs

Have you ever wondered why planes still have dozens of no smoking signs inside an aircraft, even 30 years after a worldwide ban was implemented? A travel expert has answered this age-old question, just weeks after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) got rid of the off switch for no smoking signs. This means that for all American planes across every US airline, the no smoking signs stay lit throughout the entire time you’re on board, which includes taxing, takeoff, cruising and landing. While it would seem that no smoking signs onboard planes are no longer needed nowadays, they are actually very much needed. “While no smoking signs may seem like an old and outdated practice, they are still a necessity for a few different reasons,” RVshare travel expert Maddi Bourgerie told <a href="https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/planes-no-smoking-signs-why-expert">Thrillist.</a> Firstly, it’s down to public health and safety, as Ms Bourgerie said, “There are aviation regulations in place that require airlines to maintain a no-smoking policy, which is largely due to the flammability of materials in the cabin.” She added, “the signs reinforce a smoke-free environment for all passengers and crew,” with second-hand smoke being dangerous to those around you in an enclosed space. Ms Bourgerie also explained that having the signs gives the airline some protection from potential lawsuits, with the signs acting as a safety net if a smoking-related incident occurs on board. The travel expert also pointed to a less obvious reason for keeping the no smoking signs, explaining, “Many procedures and protocols in aviation are maintained for consistency and familiarity.” “And the no smoking sign has become a standard part of the in-flight experience.” Image credits: Shutterstock

Travel Trouble

What you need to know about smoking on major cruise lines

Cruising is a highly popular holiday option for travellers. Many changes have been made to the cruising industry to accommodate the influx of travellers. One of the changes that have come with the popularity of cruising is tighter smoking policies. Here is a guide to the different smoking policies of various cruise lines. P&O Cruises For P&O cruises, smoking is not permitted indoors in any of their ships. This rule includes your room and balcony. Smoking is allowed in selected areas outdoors. Electronic cigarettes can also only be used in the designated outdoor smoking areas. Carnival Cruise Line Travellers are allowed to smoke in the designated areas which include some public areas including certain areas of a casino, dance club and some jazz clubs on certain ships. Other public areas are non-smoking zones including dinning and public rooms. Rooms and balconies are non-smoking areas. Princess Cruises Princess Cruises allows smoking in the cigar lounge, the casino and some areas on the open decks. Smoking is prohibited in cabins, balconies and all food areas. On open decks cigar and pipe smoking is allowed. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Royal Caribbean ships do not allow smoking in dining rooms, cabins and open or closed decks on the portside of the ship. Smoking is allowed on the starboard side of open decks, and designated area of a public room. Most casinos with this line allow smoking except for select cruises from China which will have a non-smoking area. Crystal Cruises Crystal Cruises once allowed smoking in cabins but now they don’t. Smoking is allowed in certain outdoor areas of the ship and a designated smoking lounge is also available. Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Cruise Line permits smoking on certain areas of open decks, in a casino if you are a player and in the cigar bars. Smoking is not allowed in cabins and balconies. Smoking is allowed on the starboard side of the Waterfront on the Getaway and Breakaway, except for in the dinning areas. Holland America Holland America allow smoking on balconies but not in cabins. Opens decks and designated areas in most public rooms are free to smoke in. If you are in the casino you can only smoke if you are an active player. Disney Cruise Line Smoking is prohibited in any indoor areas for Disney cruises. For the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder ships smoking is allowed on the starboard side of the deck 4 at 6pm to 6am and decks 9 and 10 in the Quiet Cove Area. On the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, smoking Is allowed from 6pm to 6am in designated areas on decks 4, 12 and 13. Should people be allowed to smoke on cruises?

Cruising

New research uncovers correlation between smoking and Covid

According to new research from UC San Diego, smoking increases the likelihood for a person to develop severe Covid-19 symptoms that require hospitalisation and could potentially be fatal. The study done under UCSD’s Rady school of Management and two Danish universities have seen cigarette sales among regular smokers decline between 20-30%. The number of those quitting smoking increased by 10% from March 2020-January 2021 in Denmark. “The pandemic led to reductions in physical activity, increases in stress and declines in mental well-being, all factors commonly associated with triggering higher tobacco use - however, we find evidence of sustained decreases in smoking, which could be a bright spot in the pandemic,” corresponding study author of the study and Rady School associate professor of economics and strategy Sally Sadoff said. “The health risks associated with COVID-19 and smoking may help some smokers overcome a key barrier to quitting - that the enjoyment of smoking is felt in the present and health costs are usually felt in the future.” The paper, published in the journal Communications Medicine, has also found that dips in smoking were sustained for at least the first year of the pandemic and quitting rates lasted at least six months. These findings suggest COVID-19 may lead to a persistent decline in smoking. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey, the prevalence of daily smoking for Australians aged 18 and older in 2020-21 was 10.7%. Image: Getty

Body

From a series of recipes by Xali: Smoked Salmon, Spinach and Dill Omelette

This colourful omelette will have everyone satisfied. Create a super thin egg mixture and add plenty of herbs and lots of greens. Spinach is rich in antioxidants and is also considered a ‘cooling food’, which helps to combat inflammation and ease hot flushes. Serves: 2 Prep: 10 mins Cook: 10 mins Ingredients: Eggs - 4 whole Parsley, flat-leaf chopped - 2 tbsp Dill, fresh chopped + a few sprigs dill - 1 tbsp Pinch salt 2 whole Cracked black pepper - 1/2 tsp Olive oil - 2 tsp Smoked salmon - 4 pieces Spinach, fresh - 1 cup Sugar snap peas trimmed - 1/2 cup Asparagus spears sliced in half lengthwise - 8 whole Silverbeet finely shredded - 1/2 cup Method: 1. Whisk eggs with parsley, chopped dill, salt and cracked black pepper. 2. Heat oil in a medium sized skillet or omelette pan. Pour in egg mixture and cook over medium heat to set eggs for 4 minutes, then layer with smoked salmon and spinach. 3. Fold omelette over carefully in the pan and continue to cook for a further 3 minutes until the salmon has cooked and spinach wilted. 4. Meanwhile in a separate saucepan, steam or gently boil the sugar snap peas, asparagus spears and silverbeet for about 3 minutes, strain, pat dry and keep warm. 5. Transfer to a serving plate, add some fresh dill to garnish and serve with steamed greens. Image: Supplied

Food & Wine

Why smoking shouldn’t give movies an automatic R rating

In an era when <a href="http://www.whitehutchinson.com/blog/2014/01/movie-attendance-continued-its-long-term-decline-in-2013/">cinema attendance</a> is in continual decline, the United States Surgeon General’s <a href="http://http//www.cdc.gov//tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/movies/index.htm">proposal</a> that all movies depicting smoking should be rated R is a particular form of silliness. The Surgeon General <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/50th-anniversary/">estimates</a> that giving an R rating to movies with smoking would reduce the number of young smokers in the US by nearly 18% and prevent one million deaths from smoking among children alive today. But these statements are based on <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001078">questionable assumptions</a> and calculations.<h2>Beyond the cinema</h2>Advocates for R ratings argue two effects. R-rating would dramatically reduce the number of young people who would be exposed to smoking scenes in movies. And it would act as a major disincentive to movie producers to include smoking scenes because R rated movies attract smaller audiences. These producers would thus self-censor smoking scenes after doing the box office maths.But studies purporting to demonstrate the power of smoking scenes to cause smoking already include R-rating movies in their smoking scene exposure assessments. In this 2007 <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/5/e1167.long">paper</a>, for example, 40% of the films were R-rated. The same research team has also <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/1/149.long">shown</a> that 81% of US adolescents are allowed to watch R-rated movies. If youth who allegedly start smoking because of exposure to smoking in movies are already watching lots of R-rated movies, how would an R-rating reduce such exposure? Moving movies with smoking to R-rating would put the onus on parents to regulate their children’s viewing. Few would disagree with that. But why would parents regulate their children’s viewing more because of concern about smoking than they do now because of concerns about exposure to strong violence and explicit sex in R-rated movies?If the R-rating solution is designed to prevent youth seeing smoking, it may prevent them seeing it in cinemas, but it will not prevent them seeing the newly rated R movies elsewhere with consummate ease, increasingly so as download and i-View markets rapidly expand. It surely cannot be long until proponents of R-rating realise they will need to call for total movie censorship of smoking. If they’re comfortable with that, let them be open about it.But I, for one, am not. And because the call for this proposal has received no serious consideration outside of the US and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_India">India</a> (a nation with a strong history of censorship), I’m certainly not alone. <h2>Art imitating life</h2>As I wrote <a href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001078">before</a> in the journal PLOS Medicine, I’m concerned that public health advocates think it’s reasonable for the state to regulate cultural products such as movies, books, art and theatre to further their cause.Film isn’t just about the communication of public health messages to the masses. And children’s moral development and health decision-making is far complex than a response to wholesome role models. Filmmakers depict all sorts of antisocial, unhealthy and even dangerous realities that we might expect in society. That doesn’t mean the behaviour is desirable or that the filmmaker is endorsing the behaviour. In nations such as Australia which ban all forms of tobacco advertising, any evidence of paid tobacco product placement in movie would be a breach of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/tapa1992314/">Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992</a>. There would be many inside the local film industry who would be appalled if tobacco companies were paying illegally for such scenes to occur. There have been no whistleblowers exposing this here, so any smoking scenes are highly likely to be script and directional judgements.Smoking prevalence in <a href="http://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-1-prevalence/1-6-prevalence-of-smoking-secondary-students">Australian children</a> is at an all-time low, as it is in the <a href="http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/press_releases/post/2012_12_19_survey">United States</a>. This has been achieved by the sustained combination of policies and campaigns mostly directed at adults, but to which kids are also exposed. So while smoking in movies has been rising, smoking in kids has been falling.There are many overtly and subtly negative treatments of smoking in movies and television that are probably contributing to the decay of smoking’s former status. This compilation from the globally massively popular Friends TV series is illustrative.If R-rating advocates had their way, no adolescent should ever be exposed to such programs.Image credits: Getty ImagesThis article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-smoking-shouldnt-give-movies-an-automatic-r-rating-30864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.

Movies

Children whose parents smoke have lower test scores and more behavioural issues than kids of non-smokers

Children whose parents smoke have lower academic test scores and more behavioural issues than children of non-smokers. These are the findings of our research published in the journal of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1570677X21000022?via%3Dihub">Economics and Human Biology</a>. Smoking is prevalent in lower socio-economic groups whose characteristics (such as lower IQ and poorer motivation on average) <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29058397/">are correlated with</a> lower academic scores and more behavioural issues in children. This can bias the results as the sample of children whose scores are lower is no longer random. After addressing such concerns, our broad finding remained the same. Because of the model we used, this means there is a causal – rather than merely correlational – relationship between parental smoking and children’s academic scores and behavioural outcomes. <h2>How we did our study</h2> We used data from the <a href="https://growingupinaustralia.gov.au/">Longitudinal Study of Australian Children</a> (LSAC), which tracks children from birth to monitor their development and well-being. It also surveys them and their parents on a range of cognitive (such as academic) and non-cognitive (such as behavioural) performance measures, and records other data such as their NAPLAN test results. We wanted to find the effects of parental smoking on children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills in early life – from 4-14 years old. We measured children’s cognitive skills using the given NAPLAN literacy and numeracy test scores in grades 3, 5, 7 and 9. We also used the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), which is designed to measure a child’s knowledge of the meaning of spoken words and his or her receptive vocabulary. The test is carried out as part of the LSAC survey when the children are 4-9 years old. Non-cognitive skills include social behaviour, hyperactivity or inattention, and peer problems. We took the measures of these as reported by parents. <h2>What we found</h2> We found, across all measures of cognitive skills, children living with non-smoker parents had a higher average score than children living with at least one smoker parent. We found smoking can reduce academic scores by up to 3%. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442417/original/file-20220125-13-t7tqwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442417/original/file-20220125-13-t7tqwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Girl writing test at desk." /></a> Kids’ test scores were lower if their parents were smokers than those of non-smoking parents. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/school-students-taking-exam-writing-answer-536624842" class="source">Shutterstock</a> Likewise, we found children with at least one parent who smokes are likely to experience more behavioural issues. We found smoking can reduce behavioural scores by up to 9%. Our findings are consistent even when we look at mums’ and dads’ smoking behaviour separately. But the effect is stronger for mothers, as expected. Maternal smoking in pregnancy has <a href="https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/low-birthweight-preterm-births-and-intrauterine-growth-retardatio-3">direct effects</a> on the child’s brain development and birth weight. Pre-natal ill-health and sickness in early childhood may affect cognitive, social and emotional outcomes through poorer mental well-being. Second-hand smoke exposure at home can <a href="https://actbr.org.br/uploads/arquivo/659_Pesquisa_fumo_passivo_OMS_2010.pdf">also cause numerous health problems</a> in infants and children, such as asthma and ear infections. This could lead <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/128/4/650/30703/School-Absenteeism-Among-Children-Living-With?redirectedFrom=fulltext">them to take more time out of school</a>. We used information on the number of school days missed because of health reasons and children’s physical health assessments in the LSAC survey to test whether parental smoking and absenteeism due to health were related. We found children from households with at least one smoker were more likely to have lower school attendance and poorer physical health, both of which have adverse consequences on their cognitive and non-cognitive development. Our findings did not change across various measures, such as the frequency or number of cigarettes parents smoked per day. But we did find parental smoking had a stronger influence on boys than girls. This is consistent with <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-015-0509-6?email.event.1.SEM.ArticleAuthorContributingOnlineFirst&error=cookies_not_supported&error=cookies_not_supported&code=8484cb89-b3f1-41ff-b1ce-6d9916f9aa2a&code=70985a21-e7c8-490e-b579-58a8a7e6f6d7">growing evidence</a> that girls are more resilient to environmental pressures than boys. <h2>How parental smoking affects kids’ skills: the three pathways</h2> <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442419/original/file-20220125-27-1iaivrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/442419/original/file-20220125-27-1iaivrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Top of shopping trolley with woman's hand on it." /></a> Spending on tobacco can leave less money for food. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-female-shopper-trolley-supermarket-92894512" class="source">Shutterstock</a> There are three pathways through which parental smoking has an effect on children’s academic, social and emotional skills. The first is that the child’s health may already have been affected before birth if the mother was a smoker. And some other negative effects of ill health come from exposure to second-hand smoke, as described above. The second pathway for parental smoking affecting a child’s acquisition of cognitive and non-cognitive skills is through a reduction in household income. Tobacco spending can <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/00148365-200403040-00009">displace spending on food, education and health care</a>. The third pathway is that children’s ability to develop skills <a href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/63853/1/321132386.pdf">depends on their parents’</a> cognitive and non-cognitive skills, which are determined by their own health and education. Parental smoking can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53017/">affect their own well-being</a>, such as through impacting their respiratory health. This, in turn, <a href="https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/63853/1/321132386.pdf">can influence the way they parent</a>. Our findings highlight the role of the family environment in early childhood development, which sets the foundation for long-term health, as well as social and economic success. Campaigns, programs and policies aimed at reducing tobacco use should emphasise the inadvertent harm smoking habits can have on children’s present and future.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172601/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/preety-pratima-srivastava-1138197">Preety Pratima Srivastava</a>, Senior Lecturer, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063">RMIT University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/children-whose-parents-smoke-have-lower-test-scores-and-more-behavioural-issues-than-kids-of-non-smokers-172601">original article</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Family & Pets

Zoo condemned as “cruel” for video of monkey smoking a cigarette

A Chinese zoo has been condemned as cruel and exploitative online after a video of a small monkey smoking a cigarette went viral. Hengshui Wildlife Park, in the province of Hebei, responded to critics, claiming the video was part of an anti-smoking campaign. The video, which had been uploaded to the zoo’s official social media accounts last week before being deleted, shows the monkey sitting on a bench dressed in a purple onesie. It can be seen puffing on the cigarette before the cigarette is removed by a woman. The monkey, blinking repeatedly, rubs its eye, seemingly because of the smoke, before falling backwards. The video has been criticised widely online after being shared to social media and subsequently being picked up by Chinese media outlets. Critics condemned the video as “sick” and called for action to be taken against the zoo. PETA Asia Vice President Jason Baker told <a rel="noopener" href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/cruel-monkey-forced-to-smoke-cigarette-sparks-outrage-083651115.html" target="_blank">Yahoo News Australia</a> that it was disturbing to see an incident like this framed as entertaining, saying, "How cruel to force a baby monkey to smoke for human amusement. Gradually, zoos are learning that spectacles like monkey performances, elephant rides, and photo ops with tiger cubs are inappropriate and exploitative." An employee at the zoo told Red Star News that even though the cigarette was lit, the monkey did not inhale any of the smoke, and was simply posing for a video designed to highlight the issues associated with smoking. Broadcaster CCTV said that zoos should be setting an example of how to treat animals, and questioned how effective it was to use a monkey to influence human habits. The China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation has commenced an investigation, with deputy secretary general Ma Yong calling the incident “unreasonable” and stating that it was most likely illegal. He added that the zoo would be under close scrutiny following the incident. Roughly 28% of the Chinese population, or 316 million people, smoke, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Image: The Paper

Family & Pets

Non-smoking mum reveals symptom she ignored that turned out to be cancer

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> A Brisbane mum's lung cancer symptoms were masked by her pregnancy for months and almost was diagnosed too late. However, she's warning other mums to not make the same mistakes she did and get tested early. Samantha Bladwell thought something was wrong as she was 30 weeks pregnant but figured it was to do with the baby. She would be short of breath in weird situations, such as walking up a hill or giving a presentation at work and had decided to take herself to her GP. Her GP wasn't convinced but sent her off for tests anyway. After a CT scan, a biopsy and conversations with specialists, she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, which was in her spine, her brain and both of her lungs. “It was very surreal, and all a bit of a blur,” she told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.kidspot.com.au/parenting/real-life/reader-stories/i-thought-i-was-rundown-and-pregnant-but-the-truth-was-so-much-scarier/news-story/c8e65317b91a044635f6e93ea65c3073" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">Kidspot.</a> “People assume if you’ve got lung cancer, you smoke, so it’s your fault. I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life,” she said. ‘The truth is anyone with lungs can get lung cancer. No-one deserves to have lung cancer, it’s horrible.” She's now urging other mums to get tested as she initially blamed her shortness of breath on the expected baby. The mother-of-two is now undergoing target therapy which works to specifically kill cancer-causing cells. Photo credits: Kidspot </div> </div> </div>

Body

COVID-19 has offered us an unexpected opportunity to help more people quit smoking

Smokers are worried. A respiratory disease is running rampant across the globe and people with unhealthy lifestyle habits appear to be especially vulnerable. We know smokers hospitalised with COVID-19 are more likely to become <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/smoking-and-covid-19">severely unwell and die</a> than non-smokers with the disease. At any point in time, most smokers <a href="https://www.quit.org.au/news/8-10-victorian-smokers-want-quit-survey/">want to quit</a>. But COVID-19 provides the impetus to do it sooner rather than later. In our <a href="https://journals.lww.com/journaladdictionmedicine/Abstract/9000/Preferences_for_Tobacco_Cessation_Information_and.99161.aspx">new study</a>, we surveyed 1,204 adult smokers across Australia and the United Kingdom. We found the proportion intending to quit within the next two weeks almost tripled from around 10% of smokers before COVID-19 to 29% in April. Many more were thinking about quitting some time soon, and most wanted help to do so. Our research shows many people who smoke understand they can reduce their COVID-19 related risk by addressing their smoking. Given this, and the broader health gains associated with stopping smoking, we must ensure people who want to quit in the face of COVID-19 are supported. Information and support When asked whether they’d like to receive information about the risks of COVID-19 for smokers, almost half (45%) of our respondents said they would. This was especially the case among those wanting to quit very soon. As for where they wanted to get this information, participants most commonly chose government representatives (59%) and doctors (47%) as their preferred sources. Television news was the most favoured information delivery channel (61%), followed by online news (36%), social media (31%) and email (31%). As well as being receptive to information, our participants were keen for support to help them quit. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2020-smoking-cessation/index.html">Evidence-based</a> forms of smoking cessation assistance include nicotine replacement therapy (for example, gum, patches and inhalers) and counselling. Almost two-thirds (61%) of our respondents expressed an interest in receiving nicotine replacement therapy to help them quit, which rose to more than three-quarters (77%) if it could be home-delivered and provided free of charge. Half (51%) wanted access to personal advice and support, such as that provided by <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/contacts/quitline">Quitline</a>. A similar number (49%) were receptive to being part of a text support program for smokers. These results show us smokers are interested in forms of quitting assistance that can be delivered remotely. Making sure smokers know these sorts of things are available in lockdown could increase uptake, and in turn reduce smoking rates. It’s also important to note the <a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1212">social isolation</a> associated with the pandemic may make people more vulnerable to the addictive effects of nicotine. So they may need extra support during this time. Two big risks to our health Strong groundwork in the form of anti-smoking campaigns, tobacco taxes, and smoke-free environment legislation has reduced smoking levels in Australia to a record low of <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/national-drug-strategy-household-survey-2019/contents/summary">11%</a>. But even at this rate, smoking remains Australia’s <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/953dcb20-b369-4c6b-b20f-526bdead14cb/aihw-bod-20.pdf.aspx?inline=true">number-one avoidable killer</a>. Smoking eventually kills up to <a href="https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-015-0281-z">two-thirds of regular users</a>, and the number of people dying from smoking-related diseases still dwarfs COVID-19 deaths. Roughly <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco">eight million people</a> around the world die each year from tobacco-related diseases (such as cancer, stroke and heart disease), compared to the almost <a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/">one million</a> deaths attributed to COVID-19 so far. Of course, the infectious nature of COVID-19 brings its own set of challenges. But combined, we have a potent reason to prioritise encouraging and helping smokers to quit as soon as possible. There has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-nicotine-protect-us-against-coronavirus-137488">speculation</a> about whether smoking increases the risk of contracting COVID-19, or whether nicotine might actually protect against the disease. The evidence remains unclear. Regardless of whether smoking affects the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the first place, we know it increases the risk of dying from it. Providing intensive quit support during the pandemic could facilitate a substantial boost to cessation rates and bring us closer to the day when smoking becomes history. Capitalising on this opportunity Smokers’ increased risk from COVID-19 and the importance of encouraging smokers to quit to reduce their risk of a range of non-communicable diseases means <a href="https://infogram.com/ama-covid-19-factsheet-tobacco-1hd12y0rovwm6km?live">health agencies</a> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/smokers-at-greater-risk-of-severe-respiratory-disease-from-covid-19">around the world</a> are sending messages about the importance of quitting now. Our results suggest these statements should ideally be accompanied by explicit offers of help to quit in the form of nicotine replacement therapy and counselling. Investment in these is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26031929/">cost-effective</a>, and now is an ideal time to make them as widely available and affordable as possible. Many smokers would also likely benefit from the use of mass media to provide more information about their greater risk if infected with COVID-19. This heightened interest in quitting in the face of COVID-19 — reflected not only in our research, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/number-of-people-quitting-smoking-at-ten-year-high-thanks-to-change-in-attitudes-during-covid-19-pandemic-12077840">but elsewhere</a> — represents a unique opportunity for governments and health agencies to help smokers quit, and stay off smoking for good. Written by Simone Pettigrew, George Institute for Global Health. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/search/result?sg=5c52bba7-3930-40c3-ac55-adfb03be59ed&sp=1&sr=1&url=%2Fcovid-19-has-offered-us-an-unexpected-opportunity-to-help-more-people-quit-smoking-146747">The Conversation.</a>

Beauty & Style

Six million hectares of threatened species habitat up in smoke

More than <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/01/08/australian-bushfires-more-than-one-billion-animals-impacted.html">one billion mammals, birds, and reptiles</a> across eastern Australia are estimated to have been affected by the current fire catastrophe. Many animals and plants have been incinerated or suffocated by smoke and ash. Others may have escaped the blaze only to die of exhaustion or starvation, or be picked off by predators. But even these huge losses of individual animals and plants do not reveal the full scale of impact that the recent fires have had on biodiversity. Plants, <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-bushfires-could-drive-more-than-700-animal-species-to-extinction-check-the-numbers-for-yourself-129773">invertebrates</a>, freshwater fish, and frogs have also been affected, and the impact of the fires is likely to be disproportionately greater for <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-season-in-hell-bushfires-push-at-least-20-threatened-species-closer-to-extinction-129533">threatened species</a>. To delve deeper into the conservation impact, we used publicly available satellite imagery to look at the burnt areas (up to January 7, 2020) and see how they overlapped with the approximate distributions of all the threatened animals and plants listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. We restricted our analysis to the mediterranean and temperate zone of south-east and south-west Australia. The bad news We found that 99% of the area burned in the current fires contains potential habitat for at least one nationally listed threatened species. We conservatively estimate that six million hectares of threatened species habitat has been burned. Given that many fires are still burning and it is not yet clear how severe the burning has been in many areas, the number of species affected and the extent of the impact may yet change. What we do know is that these species are already on the brink of extinction due to other threats, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/environment-laws-have-failed-to-tackle-the-extinction-emergency-heres-the-proof-122936">land clearing</a>, invasive species, climate change, disease, or previous fires. Approximately 70 nationally threatened species have had at least 50% of their range burnt, while nearly 160 threatened species have had more than 20% of their range burnt. More threatened plants have been affected than other groups: 209 threatened plant species have had more than 5% of their range burnt compared to 16 mammals, ten frogs, six birds, four reptiles, and four freshwater fish. Twenty-nine of the 30 species that have had more than 80% of their range burnt are plants. Several species have had their entire range consumed by the fires, such as the Mountain Trachymene, a <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/9367-conservation-advice.pdf">fire-sensitive</a> plant found in only four locations in the South Eastern Highlands of NSW. Other species that have been severely impacted include the Kangaroo Island dunnart and the Kangaroo Island glossy black cockatoo. These species’ entire populations numbered only in the hundreds prior to these bushfires that have burned more than 50% of their habitat. Glossy black cockatoos have a highly specialised diet. They eat the seeds of the drooping sheoak <a href="https://ecos.csiro.au/glossy-black-cockatoos/">(Allocasuarina verticillata).</a> These trees may take anywhere from 10 to 50 years to recover enough to produce sufficient food for the black cockatoos. The populations of many species will need careful management and protection to give their habitats enough time to recover and re-supply critical resources. The figures above do not account for cumulative impacts of previous fires. For example, the critically endangered western ground parrot had around 6,000 hectares of potential habitat burnt in these fires, which exacerbates the impact of earlier extensive fires in 2015 and early 2019. Threatened species vary in their ability to cope with fire. For fire-sensitive species, almost every individual dies or is displaced. The long-term consequences are likely to be dire, particularly if vegetation composition is irrevocably changed by severe fire or the area is subject to repeat fires. More than 50% of the habitat of several species known to be susceptible to fire has been burnt – these include the long-footed potoroo and Littlejohn’s tree frog. Some species are likely to thrive after fire. Indeed, of the top 30 most impacted species on our list, almost 20% will likely flourish due to low competition in their burnt environments – these are all re-sprouting plants. Others will do well if they are not burnt again before they can set seed. Rising from the ashes For fire-sensitive threatened species, these fires could have substantially increased the probability of extinction by virtue of direct mortality in the fires or reducing the amount of suitable habitat. However, after the embers settle, with enough investment and conservation actions, guided by evidence-based science, it may be possible to help threatened species recover. Protection and conservation-focussed management of areas that have not burned will be the single most important action if threatened species are to have any chance of persistence and eventual recovery. Management of threatening processes (such as weeds, feral predators, <a href="https://theconversation.com/double-trouble-as-feral-horse-numbers-gallop-past-25-000-in-the-australian-alps-128852">introduced herbivores</a>, and habitat loss through logging or thinning) must occur not just at key sites, but across the landscapes they sit in. Maintaining only small pockets of habitat in a landscape of destruction will lock many species on the pathway to extinction. In some cases, rigorous post-fire restoration will be necessary to allow species to re-colonise burnt areas. This may include intensive weed control and assisted regeneration of threatened flora and specific food sources for fauna, installing nest boxes and artificial cover, or even targeted <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/massive-food-drop-to-help-save-endangered-wallabies-in-fire-affected-areas-20200112-p53qss.html">supplementary feeding</a>. Unconventional recovery actions will be needed because this unique situation calls for outside-the-box thinking. Playing the long game These fires were made larger and more severe by <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/">record hot, dry conditions</a>. Global temperatures have so far risen by approximately 1°C from pre-industrial levels. <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2865/a-degree-of-concern-why-global-temperatures-matter/">Current projections indicate that we are on track for a 3°C increase.</a> What will that look like? We are in a moment of collective grief for what has been lost. A species lost is not just a word on a page, but an entire world of unique traits, behaviours, connections to other living things, and beauty. These losses do not need to be in vain. We have an opportunity to transform our collective grief into collective action. Australians are now personally experiencing climate impacts in an unprecedented way. We must use this moment to galvanise our leaders to act on climate change, here in Australia and on the world stage. The futures of our beloved plants and animals, and our own, depend on it. Written by Michelle Ward, Aaron Greenville, April Reside, Ayesha Tulloch, Brooke Williams, Emily Massingham, Helen Mayfield, Hugh Possingham, James Watson, Jim Radford and Laura Sonter. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/six-million-hectares-of-threatened-species-habitat-up-in-smoke-129438">The Conversation.</a>

Caring

“I just can’t breathe”: Smoke chokes tennis stars as they slam decision to play Australian Open qualifiers

The tennis world has slammed Australian Open organisers after they chose to proceed with qualifying matches on Tuesday despite Melbourne being covered in hazardous smoke. Due to poor air quality because of bushfires, qualifying matches were forced to be delayed yesterday morning but were later on given the green light to go ahead. But the dangerous conditions affected the players, who came together to condemn the decision to let play unfold. Aussie Bernard Tomic lost in the first round of qualifying for the year’s first grand slam, which begins on Monday, and required medical attention as he struggled to breathe. The former world No. 17 was defeated by American Denis Kudla in straight sets 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 at Melbourne Park where he slowly lost control after a promising start. Tomic asked to see a doctor at 1-2 in the second set, and said he was having difficulty breathing. The doctor gave him an inhaler and checked his chest with a stethoscope, before allowing him to resume. “I just can’t breathe,” he said. He wasn’t the only one who had difficulty, as Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic fell to the ground on court due to a coughing fit. She was forced to retire from the match which had gone for close to two hours. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> Davila Jakupovic retires after suffering a horrendous coughing fit and breathing difficulties in the heavy, polluted air in Melbourne. Awful scenes <a href="https://t.co/EPQUlf9DpF">pic.twitter.com/EPQUlf9DpF</a> — Simon Briggs (@simonrbriggs) <a href="https://twitter.com/simonrbriggs/status/1216926145507033093?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">14 January 2020</a></blockquote> Jakupovic criticised Australian Open officials, saying the conditions weren’t safe for matches to go ahead. She told CNN players were “p***ed and disappointed because we thought they would take better care of us”. “I think it was not fair because it’s not healthy for us,” she told reporters. “I was surprised. I thought we would not be playing today but we really don’t have much choice. “If they don’t put us on the court, maybe we get fined – I don’t know. “It would be maybe better to see if tomorrow is better. They still have time. “It was really bad. I never experienced something like this and I was really scared. I was scared that I would collapse. That’s why I went on the floor. Because I couldn’t walk anymore. When I was on the ground it was easier to get some air.” The Slovenian then made an appearance on Channel 9’s Today show and further reinstated that she had never faced conditions like that before. “I have no asthma or breathing problems. I never experienced something like this,” she said. “I mean, it was really scary. I couldn’t breathe. “I didn’t know what to do … I was really scared, I have to say. “I understand no one from us had these kind of conditions before. We’re used to pollution, like we play in China and play in more polluted countries. Smoke is something different. For sure we’re not used to it. “Citizens and everyone were advised to stay inside. We didn’t expect we’d be playing yesterday. “It was a bit shocking.”

Travel Trouble

How wildfire smoke is affecting your pets and other animals

Catastrophic fires across the globe are increasing in both <a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/pubs/pnw_gtr870/pnw_gtr870_011.pdf">frequency and magnitude</a>. The bushfires in Australia, fuelled by heatwaves and drought, have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/datablog/ng-interactive/2019/dec/07/how-big-are-the-fires-burning-on-the-east-coast-of-australia-interactive-map">burned more than 10.7 million hectares</a>, an area larger than Iceland. Over <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/01/08/australian-bushfires-more-than-one-billion-animals-impacted.html">one billion animals</a> are estimated to have died in the Australian bushfires so far. This loss of life is devastating. Horses, dogs and other domestic animals are also being affected by the smoke generated by the wildfires. As veterinarians who have cared for small animals following the California wildfires and researched the impacts of wildfires on horses in Canada, we have some perspective on how smoke can harm companion animals and what people can do to protect the animals in their care. What is smoke? The composition of smoke depends on what is being burned. The smoke from a house fire or a barn fire will contain different compounds than the smoke from wildfires or bushfires. When an animal inhales smoke, it brings a combination of toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, and particulate matter, a mixture of small liquid and solid particles, into its throat, nose and lungs. Smoke inhalation can <a href="https://www.dvm360.com/view/smoke-inhalation-proceedings">damage the respiratory tract</a> in multiple ways; it can cause burns and lead to physical irritation, causing the airway to swell and become blocked. <a href="https://todaysveterinarypractice.com/treating-environmental-lung-injuries-drowning-and-smoke-inhalation/">Toxic gases</a> can impair oxygen delivery and lead to death. Animals with immediate and close exposure to fires, such as barn or house fires, face this risk. Exposure to bushfires or wildfires results in a sustained, lower-dose exposure to smoke. The major concern here is particulate matter. Very small particulate matter (less than four microns in diametre) can bypass the body’s natural filters and reach the lower airways. Smoke inhalation in horses Our relationship with horses is unique in that they bridge the gap between livestock and companion animals. As athletic animals, air quality impacts horses’ capacity to perform. The financial ramifications of impaired performance is not insignificant, given the economic impact of the <a href="https://www.horsecouncil.org/resources/economics/">horse industry</a> in <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/horse-racing/nine-billion-reasons-why-racing-matters/news-story/16d381f391e1f02092c48510b8ce89f6">multiple</a> <a href="https://www.equestrian.ca/cdn/storage/resources_v2/XTEHyRosaHidTWQeX/original/XTEHyRosaHidTWQeX.pdf">countries</a>. Horses have a huge lung capacity. A horse moves more than 2,000 litres of air through its lungs every minute during strenuous exercise. With this air, horses also inhale a large number of pollutants, which is drastically increased during fires. In 2018, Calgary was smothered in wildfire smoke for more than six weeks, with poor air quality warnings issued daily. During this period, we <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334657179_Mild_Equine_Asthma_Effects_of_Commonly_Used_Treatments_on_the_Respiratory_Microbiota_Inflammatory_Gene_Expression_and_Aerobic_Performance_during_High-Intensity_Exercise">studied the impact of poor air quality on exercise performance in polo horses</a> that were at a maintenance level of fitness at the end of the competition season. They continued the same training program throughout the trial, so all results are due to the improved conditions and not a conditioning effect. Every horse involved in the study exhibited coughing at rest and during exercise, with owners complaining of decreased performance. We performed a procedure called a lung wash on these horses to retrieve cells and particulate matter from their lungs. Every horse in the study showed inflammation of the respiratory tract. We also found large amounts of microscopic pollens and other debris trapped in the cells. These findings are diagnostic of asthma in horses, and were also commonly seen by veterinarians working in the affected area. We also wanted to know how much the performance of these horses improved after prolonged smoke exposure. The gold standard technique to evaluate athletic performance is the measurement of maximum oxygen consumption, also known as VO2max. After 2.5 weeks of improved air quality, horses had a 15 per cent increase in speed, as well as a 13.2 per cent increase in VO2max, compared to those measures on the first day of improved air quality. To put this into context, training two-year-old racehorses for eight weeks has been reported to result in a <a href="https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jes/8/3/8_3_75/_pdf">6.7 per cent improvement in VO2max</a>. How to keep animals safe There are <a href="http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Guidelines%20and%20Forms/Guidelines%20and%20Manuals/Health-Environment/WFSG_EvidenceReview_ReducingTimeOutdoors_FINAL_v6trs.pdf">many guidelines</a> <a href="https://www3.epa.gov/airnow/wildfire_may2016.pdf">available for people</a> when air quality is poor, but very little information for pet owners. The air quality index (AQI) is used in Australia and the United States. The AQI is a single number presented on a scale of 0-500, ranging from excellent air quality to the most hazardous air pollution. Canada uses the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/air-quality-health-index/about.html">Air Quality Health Index (AQHI)</a>, using a scale from 1 to 10. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-10/sydney-smoke-returns-to-worst-ever-levels/11782892">several regions where AQIs had surpassed 500 in December 2019</a>. Wildfires in northern Alberta in 2018 sent AQHI index <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5338930/gallery-smoke-southern-alberta-pictures/">past 11 in Calgary in May 2019</a>. Stay indoors Where possible, animals should be kept indoors when the AQI is greater than 150 or AQHI is 10+ for multiple days in a row to reduce exposure to small particulate matter. The environment matters, however. For example, a dog in a tightly sealed home will have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20948956">less exposure</a> to airborne irritants than a horse in a stable. Like human asthmatics, staying indoors might not prevent symptoms in animals with pre-existing respiratory conditions, especially when smoke persists for greater than five days. In addition, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2297465/">brachycephalic breeds</a> such as pugs and bulldogs are likely to have a reduced tolerance to smoke. Reduce outdoor physical activity When animals exercise, they increase the amount of air they inhale, which increases the deposition of particles deep in the lungs. Based on <a href="https://apps.state.or.us/Forms/Served/le8815h.pdf">guidelines</a> from <a href="http://deq.mt.gov/Portals/112/Air/FireUpdates/Documents/Activity%20Guidelines%20for%20Wildfire%20Smoke%20Events.pdf">multiple</a> regulatory bodies and associations, we recommend <a href="https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/news/guidelines-horses-exposed-wildfire-smoke">limiting outdoor exercise in animals</a> when smoke is visible. Moderate to intense exercise should be reduced when there is a high or very high risk rating (AQI exceeding 100; AQHI greater than 7). We recommend cancelling events (such as a Thoroughbred race) when there is a very high risk rating (AQI greater than 150 or an AQHI of 10+). There’s every indication that fire seasons are going to become <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/86268/longer-more-frequent-fire-seasons">longer and more frequent</a>. When smoke starts to blanket the land, remember there are simple things you can do to protect the respiratory health of both you and your pets. This is a corrected version of a story originally published on Jan. 8, 2020. The earlier story included a photo that showed the breakdown of blood components instead of the inflammatory cells, debris and pollens in a horse’s lungs after exposure to bushfire smoke. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephanie-laura-bond-918615">Stephanie Laura Bond</a>, Postdoctoral Associate, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-calgary-1318">University of Calgary</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/laura-osborne-931664">Laura Osborne</a>, Adjunct associate, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-calgary-1318">University of Calgary</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/renaud-leguillette-931485">Renaud Leguillette</a>, Professor, Calgary Chair in Equine Sports Medicine, DVM, PhD, Dipl.ACVIM, Dipl. ACVSMR, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-calgary-1318">University of Calgary</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-wildfire-smoke-affects-pets-and-other-animals-129430">original article</a>.

Family & Pets

How animals survive bushfires

Have you ever wondered how our native wildlife manage to stay alive when an inferno is ripping through their homes, and afterwards when there is little to eat and nowhere to hide? The answer is adaptation and old-fashioned ingenuity. Australia’s bushfire season is far from over, and the cost to wildlife has been epic. A <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/01/03/a-statement-about-the-480-million-animals-killed-in-nsw-bushfire.html">sobering estimate</a> has put the number of animals killed across eastern Australia at 480 million - and that’s a conservative figure. But let’s look at some uplifting facts: how animals survive, and what challenges they overcome in the days and weeks after a fire. Sensing fire In 2018, a staff member at Audubon Zoo in the United States accidentally burned pastry, and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10164-019-00628-z">noticed something peculiar</a>. In nearby enclosures ten sleepy lizards, or Tiliqua rugosa, began pacing and rapidly flicking their tongues. But sleepy lizards in rooms unaffected by smoke remained burrowed and calm. It was obvious the lizards sensed the smoke from the burnt pastry, probably through olfaction, or sense of smell (which is enhanced by <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-do-snakes-flick-their-tongues-29935">tongue flicking</a>). So the lizards were responding as they would to a bushfire. In Australia, experiments have shown smoke also awakens <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938417304419">Gould’s long-eared bats</a> and <a href="https://www.une.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/111825/StawskiMatthewsKoertnerGeiser_SmokeAshTorporActivity_PhysiolBehav2015.pdf">fat-tailed dunnarts</a>, enabling their escape from fire. Animals also recognise the distinct sounds of fire. Reed frogs <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2002.1974">flee towards cover</a> and eastern-red bats wake from torpor <a href="https://sbdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Scesny-MS-Thesis-2006-Red-bats-and-fire-detection.pdf">when played the crackling sounds of fire</a>. Other species detect fire for different reasons. Fire beetles from the genus <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanophila">Melanophila</a> depend on fire for reproduction, as their larvae develop in the wood of burned trees. They can detect fire chemicals <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/j.2161-4296.2008.tb00424.x">at very low concentrations</a>, as well as infrared radiation from fires. The beetles can detect very distant fires; <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/related?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0037627">one study</a> suggests individuals of some species identify a fire from 130km away. Stay or go? Once an animal becomes aware of an approaching fire, it’s decision time: stay or go? It’s common to see large animals fleeing a fire, such as the kangaroos filmed <a href="https://www.facebook.com/abcinsydney/videos/3094496487228353/?t=3">hopping from a fire front in Monaro</a> in New South Wales a few days ago. Kangaroos and wallabies make haste to <a href="https://twitter.com/matthewjohngill/status/1211986832763707392">dams</a> and creek lines, sometimes even <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/Fulltext/WR08029">doubling back through a fire front</a> to find safety in areas already burned. <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TRm14TfPL6g"></iframe></div> Other animals prefer to stay put, seeking refuge in burrows or under rocks. Smaller animals will happily <a href="https://media.australianmuseum.net.au/media/dd/Uploads/Documents/38347/ams370_vXVIII_05_LowRes.ffb19ac.pdf">crash a wombat burrow</a> if it means surviving a fire. Burrows buffer animals from the heat of fires, depending on their depth and nearby <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2404417.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A123188cf5406548889c46d62508dae77">fuel loads</a>. From here, animals can <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecog.02251">repopulate the charred landscape as it recovers</a>. For example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecog.02251">evidence suggests</a> populations of the agile antechinus (a small carnivorous marsupial) and the bush rat recovered primarily from within the footprint of Victoria’s Black Saturday fires. Avoiding fire is only half the battle The hours, days, and weeks after fire bring a new set of challenges. Food resources will often be scarce, and in the barren landscape some animals, such as lizards and smaller mammals, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320715002086">are more visible to hungry predators</a>. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.3401">Birds of prey arrive quickly at fires</a>. <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/Journal-of-Ethnobiology/volume-37/issue-4/0278-0771-37.4.700/Intentional-Fire-Spreading-by-Firehawk-Raptors-in-Northern-Australia/10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.700.full">Several species</a> in northern Australia have been observed intentionally spreading fires by transporting burning sticks in their talons or beaks. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.3401">One US study</a> published in 2017 recorded a seven-fold increase in raptor activity during fire. They begin hunting as the fires burn, and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2028.1987.tb01088.x">hang around for weeks or months to capitalise on vulnerable prey</a>. In Australia, introduced predators can also be drawn to fires. Feral cats have been observed travelling up to 12.5km from their home ranges <a href="https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/153672/2/01_McGregor_Extraterritorial_hunting_2016.pdf">towards recently burned</a> savanna ecosystems, potentially drawn by distant smoke plumes promising new prey. <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/Wildlife-Research/volume-42/issue-8/WR15011/Amplified-predation-after-fire-suppresses-rodent-populations-in-Australias-tropical/10.1071/WR15011.full">A 2016 study</a> found a native rodent was 21 times more likely to die in areas exposed to intense fire compared to unburned areas, mostly due to predation by feral cats. Red foxes have an <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2656.13153">affinity for burned areas too</a>. So should a little critter hunker down, or begin the hazardous search for a new home? Staying put Perhaps because of the risks of moving through an exposed landscape, several Australian mammals have learnt to minimise movement following fire. This might allow some mammal populations to recover from within a fire footprint. Native mammals have been found <a href="https://media.australianmuseum.net.au/media/dd/Uploads/Documents/38347/ams370_vXVIII_05_LowRes.ffb19ac.pdf">hiding in beds of ash</a> after fires. Short-beaked echidnas seek refuge and, when finding it, <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2016.0382">lower their body temperature and limit activity</a>, so reducing the amount of food they need for energy. Despite their spiny defences, echidnas have been found more often <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/98/3/835/3063279">in the stomachs of foxes following fire</a>, so staying put in a little refuge is a good move. Small marsupials such as brown and yellow-footed antechinus also <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2015.0134">use torpor to suppress their energy use</a> and therefore the need to seek food. Running the gauntlet Not all wildlife have adapted to stay put after a fire, and moving in search of a safe haven might be the best option. Animals might take short, information-gathering missions from their refuges into the fireground before embarking on a risky trek. They may, for example, spot a large, unburned tree that would make good habitat, and so move towards it. Without such cues to orient their movement, animals spend more time travelling, wasting precious energy reserves and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2008.1958">increasing the risk </a>of becoming predator food. Survival is not assured Australia’s animals have a long, impressive history of co-existing with fire. However, a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/brv.12486">recent study</a> I led with 27 colleagues considered how relatively recent threats make things much harder for animals in fire-prone landscapes. Some native species are not accustomed to dealing with red foxes and feral cats, and so might overlook cues that indicate their presence, and make the bad decision to move through a burned landscape when they should stay put. When fires burn habitat in agricultural or urban landscapes, animals might encounter not just predators but vehicles, livestock and harmful chemicals. And as this bushfire season has made brutally clear, climate change is increasing the scale and intensity of bushfires. This reduces the number of small refuges such as fallen logs, increases the distance animals must cover to find new habitat and leaves fewer cues to direct them to safer places. We still have a lot to learn about how Australia’s wildlife detect and respond to fire. Filling in the knowledge gaps might lead to new ways of helping wildlife adapt to our rapidly changing world.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129327/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/dale-nimmo-15432">Dale Nimmo</a>, Associate professor/ARC DECRA fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/animal-response-to-a-bushfire-is-astounding-these-are-the-tricks-they-use-to-survive-129327">original article</a>.

Family & Pets

Making sense of Australia's bushfire crisis

Bushfires plunder lives and landscapes in myriad ways, but they often start the same way. A bright morning suddenly turns to night. Ash flutters down from the sky, propelled ahead of the roaring fire front. An awful red glow slinks over the horizon. When I awoke in the NSW south coast town of Bermagui on the last day of 2019, I should have twigged straight away. At 8am the sky was a gruesome orange-black, the surrounding bush freakishly quiet. Our mobile phones had no signal. Outside, my car was coated in soot. We knew fires were burning more than 100km up the coast at Batemans Bay, but Bermagui had seemed a safe distance away. Suddenly, it wasn’t. Fire was bearing down on the seaside town, <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6561329/residents-evacuate-to-beaches-as-south-coast-fires-pose-serious-threat/">burning so fiercely</a> it created its own thunderstorm. Residents evacuated to the beach after emergency text messages at 4am, but with our phone service down we’d slept on, oblivious. When my partner and I woke and worked out what was happening, we too bundled our bewildered young son into the car and fled. Of course amid the devastation wrought this fire season, a disrupted holiday is nothing to complain about. Bushfires have decimated huge swathes of Australia this fire season, taking with them, at the time of writing, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/04/australia-fires-death-toll-rises-and-six-people-missing-as-pm-calls-in-military">23 lives</a> and more than 1500 homes. Thousands of holidaymakers in NSW and Victoria were <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/families-stuck-in-mallacoota-after-navy-ships-discouraged-children-under-5-20200104-p53otm.html">stranded for days</a> in towns with <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/australias-apocalyptic-bushfire-towns-go-into-panic-stations-as-supermarket-shelves-are-cleared-petrol-stations-run-dry-water-supplies-are-contaminated-and-communities-struggle-without-power/ar-BBYwcd7">dwindling food</a> and <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6564632/fuel-shortages-slowing-bushfire-evacuees/?cs=14231">fuel </a>supplies. Some were forced to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/01/malua-bay-fire-survivors-tell-how-1000-people-lived-through-a-night-of-flames-on-nsw-beach">shelter on beaches</a>, dodging embers and watching flames creep ever closer. And we cannot forget the animals – <a href="https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2020/01/03/a-statement-about-the-480-million-animals-killed-in-nsw-bushfire.html">millions have been killed</a> this fire season, or will soon die from lack of food or shelter. With all roads out of Bermagui closed, we spent New Year’s Eve at a local club which had hastily been converted into an evacuation centre. Many evacuees were from the nearby fire-hit town of Cobargo. Some knew the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-31/father-and-son-patrick-and-robert-salway-die-in-cobargo-bushfire/11835194">father and son</a> who died after staying to defend their property. Many would presumably soon discover their own homes were gone. They watched, hands over their mouths, as the club’s giant plasma screens beamed images of their once-charming town, now a jumble of rubble and corrugated iron. We lay our doonas down between rows of poker machines and lined up for dinner with hundreds of other evacuees. Food supplies in the town had already run short – the shelves of the local Woolworths were all but empty. To feed the hordes, volunteers began rationing dinner portions to just half a sausage and a slice of bread. They had no idea where tomorrow’s meals would come from. All this raises inevitable questions. To what extent is climate change driving these fires, and how much of that is Australia’s fault? Do we need a permanent, paid rural fire-fighting force to deal with this “new normal”? Are our fuel, food and communications systems resilient enough to cope with these disasters? And how do we cope with the deep anxiety these fires provoke, on both a personal and societal level? Over the coming days and weeks, The Conversation will examine the tough issues emerging from this crisis. Our authors, experts in the field, will cut through the political spin and information barrage to help you understand this national disaster, and what it means for our future. Today, the University of Tasmania’s David Bowman examines whether it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-bushfire-and-holiday-seasons-converge-it-may-be-time-to-say-goodbye-to-the-typical-australian-summer-holiday-129337">time to ditch the traditional summer holiday</a>, when thousands of people head to bushy areas in peak bushfire season. And while the fires absorb our attention, Monash University’s Neville Nicholls <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-bushfires-are-horrendous-but-expect-cyclones-floods-and-heatwaves-too-129328">reminds us</a> that cyclones, floods and heatwaves are also likely this summer. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308512/original/file-20200105-11929-1o23zqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> The aftermath of fires at Cobargo, near Bermagui, where buildings were destroyed and two men died. Sean Davey On New Year’s Day, the wind having blown the fires away from Bermagui, officials opened a road out. They warned us to leave before conditions changed again. We had just under half a tank of diesel, and neither Bermagui nor the next town, Tarthra, had supplies. We drove on. No diesel at Bega either, until a local told us of a truck station on the outskirts of town where we filled up. The trip home was slow and smoky, and phone reception patchy. It struck me how vulnerable we are to technology and transport systems that can so easily shut down. We tried to buy a paper map in case of detours, but no service stations stocked them. Our three-year-old son grasped little of what was happening. I suggested a game of I-Spy, but it was soon abandoned – the smoke meant there was nothing much to see. We drove through blackened landscapes where sheep wandered paddocks with the wool burnt off their backs. My son, sensing the mood, asked why his dad and I were so quiet. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308515/original/file-20200105-11900-15npdpw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Smoke haze in Canberra from the South Coast bushfires has pushed air quality to extremely hazardous levels. Lucas Coch/AAP In the days after we arrived back in Canberra, air quality was more than <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6562383/air-quality-in-parts-of-canberra-20-times-above-hazardous-level/">20 times above hazardous levels.</a> Shops and swimming pools were closed, and mail deliveries were cancelled. A woman reportedly died from respiratory distress after exiting a plane to a tarmac filled with smoke. Babies were <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ginarushton/baby-delivery-canberra-bushfire-smoke">born into smoke-filled hospital theatres</a>; their parents despaired at what the future holds. When the immediate threat of these fires has passed, many bigger questions will remain. The Conversation will continue to bring you the responsible, evidence-based journalism you need to be properly informed. Thank you for your continued support. <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/team#nicole-hasham">Nicole Hasham</a>, Section Editor: Energy + Environment, <a href="http://www.theconversation.com/">The Conversation</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/making-sense-of-australias-bushfire-crisis-means-asking-hard-questions-and-listening-to-the-answers-129302">original article</a>.

Domestic Travel

58-year-old Aussie curbs “horrendous” 27-year smoking addiction with these simple steps

A Queensland, Australian man who claimed he smoked up to 100 cigarettes a day “nonstop” for 27 years has opened up about just how exactly he kicked the “filthy” addiction. 58-year-old Walter Humphreys admitted to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7101949/Die-hard-smoker-100-day-cigarette-habit-QUITS-puffing-27-years-heres-how.html">Daily Mail</a> he was a “walking disaster” before he quit his drug addiction. The Townsville local explained he would puff on a cigarette from the moment he woke up at 5am until 10pm, every day. “It was one after the other, all day and all night. “I had nicotine stains all over me fingers, me bed. I was just a wreck.” The “horrifying” addiction began for Mr Humphrey’s when he was just 13 and his stepbrother and mates peer-pressured him into taking his first puff. The bad habit soured into a full-blown addiction when the 58-year-old landed himself in jail in 1990. His addiction did not waver when battling with leukemia and several bouts of chemotherapy seven years ago. The turning point for Mr Humphreys began two years ago when he was diagnosed with chronic lung cancer which is when the 58-year-old decided to make the most of his “second chance” at life. Walter managed to cut down 100 cigarettes per day to 80, then to 60, 40, 20 and then zero with the help of Queensland’s Quitline. He revealed the hardest part was slashing his addiction from 100 smokes a day to 80. “Your lungs are so used to copping a beating, and the cravings were more strong,” he said. “I was craving (so bad), I was chewing my fingers, my fingernails - I just couldn't keep busy enough.” Mr Humpreys biggest tips to those struggling with a smoking addiction is to think about anything other than cigarettes. “If you think about it, you're gone,” he said. “Go and do something, anything - watch TV, have a shower - keep busy and don't think about it.” While the former smoking addict has completely cut cigarettes from his life, he confirmed “everyone relapses, we’re not perfect… I’m trying my best.” “Before you know it, you're walking down the street and going, 'I can smell the fresh air, and smell the ocean' - I couldn't do that before.. “If I can help just one person to quit the habit then it's worth doing this story.”

Caring

Perfect smoked fish paella

One of the reasons the so-called Mediterranean diet is considered healthy is that it features many dishes like this one from Spain, based on rice cooked in olive oil with lots of vegetables and a modest amount of protein foods. The spicy chorizo here adds an authentic Spanish flavour. <div id="ingredients">Ingredients <ul> <li>1 litre vegetable or fish stock</li> <li>large pinch of saffron threads</li> <li>50g thin chorizo sausage</li> <li>400g undyed smoked haddock fillet, skinned</li> <li>2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>1 large onion, finely chopped</li> <li>2 large cloves garlic, crushed, or 1 tablespoon bottled chopped garlic in oil, drained</li> <li>250 g green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces</li> <li>1 1/4 cups (275g) paella or other shortgrain rice</li> <li>1 cup (155g) frozen peas</li> <li>salt and pepper</li> <li>finely chopped fresh parsley to garnish</li> </ul> </div> Preparation <div> <ol> <li>Bring the stock to the boil in a pan over a high heat. Add the saffron threads, reduce the heat and leave to simmer gently while preparing the other ingredients.</li> <li>Remove the thick skin from the chorizo sausage and thinly slice the sausage. Cut the haddock into large chunks.</li> <li>Heat the oil in a 30 cm round, shallow flameproof casserole, paella pan or frying pan. Add the chorizo, onion, garlic and green beans and fry for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.</li> <li>Add the rice and stir until all the grains are coated with oil. Add the saffron-flavoured stock and stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste.</li> <li>Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3 minutes.</li> <li>Gently stir in the haddock pieces and peas. Simmer for 20 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.</li> <li>Stir halfway through cooking, taking care not to break up the haddock too much. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.</li> </ol> This article first appeared in <a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/recipes/smoked-fish-paella">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN87V">here’s our best subscription offer.</a> </div> <img style="width: 100px !important; height: 100px !important;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7820640/1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f30947086c8e47b89cb076eb5bb9b3e2" />

Food & Wine

Smoked honey sesame pork ribs

These old school American-style ribs are the perfect use of a barbeque smoker for a weekend dinner. Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking time: 2 h 40 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients: <ul> <li>2 racks pork ribs</li> <li>100 g honey</li> <li>100 g butter, sliced</li> <li>50 g sesame seeds</li> <li>1 spring onion (scallion), thinly sliced</li> </ul> Rub (Dry spice mix) <ul> <li>2 tablespoons brown sugar</li> <li>1 tablespoon smoked paprika</li> <li>1 teaspoon celery powder</li> <li>1 teaspoon garlic powder</li> <li>1 teaspoon onion powder</li> <li>1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper, finely ground</li> <li>1 tablespoon kosher salt</li> </ul> Method: <ol> <li>Combine all of the rub ingredients in a bowl.</li> <li>Remove the membrane from the underside of the pork ribs and apply liberal coating of the rub to completely cover all sides of the ribs.</li> <li>Indirectly hot smoke the ribs for 1 hour inside a barbecue smoker at 130°C with apple or peach wood chunks or chips.</li> <li>Remove the ribs from the smoker and drizzle with the honey, top with sliced butter.</li> <li>Double wrap each rack of ribs in foil and return to the smoker for a further 1½ hours at 130°C.</li> <li>Allow the ribs to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and sprinkling with sesame seeds and spring onion to serve.</li> </ol> Tips: <ul> <li>Drizzle with extra pre-smoked honey before serving for an extra sweet kick.</li> </ul> This is an edited extract from Ribs: With Low and Slow BBQ Guide by Adam Roberts, New Holland Publishers, RRP $45, available from all good bookstores or <a href="http://au.newhollandpublishers.com/">online</a>. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/recipes/smoked-honey-sesame-pork-ribs.aspx">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Food & Wine

Hickory-smoked beef short ribs

These delicious hickory-smoked beef short ribs can be served sliced off the bone or caveman style on the bone. Serve with a side of mac and cheese and cornbread in winter, or with a side salad or spicy coleslaw in summer. Serves: 4 Ingredients: <ul> <li>2 racks beef short ribs (4-5 bones per rack)</li> <li>2 tablespoons peanut oil (or olive oil)</li> <li>100 g unsalted butter</li> </ul> For the rub <ul> <li>2 tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper</li> <li>2 tablespoons kosher salt</li> <li>2 tablespoons brown sugar</li> <li>1 tablespoon onion powder</li> <li>1 tablespoon garlic powder</li> <li>1 tablespoon smoked paprika</li> </ul> Method: 1. Preheat the barbecue smoker to 140°C. 2. Remove the silver skin from the top of the short ribs and also remove the membrane from underside of the beef ribs. Massage the oil onto all sides of the ribs to apply a light coating. 3. Combine the rub mixture in a small bowl or container, then evenly apply to the oiled ribs. Depending on the size of the ribs, more mixture may be required. Ensure all areas of the rib meat is covered with rub, concentrating on the top and sides of the meat and then the underside. 4. Place the ribs bone down in the barbecue smoker and add hickory wood chips or chunks in small batches in the first 2 hours, being careful to ensure a constant but light and even smoke. 5. Allow the ribs to cook for a further 1 hour (3 hours total), then remove from the smoker and double-wrap with foil and butter. Cook in the foil for a further 3 hours. 6. Remove the beef ribs from barbecue and carefully open the foil to expel some steam to prevent further cooking. Lightly close the foil back over the ribs and rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving. <img width="174" height="191" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/43922/ribs-cover_174x191.jpg" alt="Ribs Cover" style="float: right;"/> This is an extract from Ribs, New Holland Publishers RRP $45.00 available from all good bookstores or online, www.newhollandpublishers.com.

Food & Wine

Netflix documentary claims eating eggs is as bad as smoking

What the Health, a popular Netflix documentary, has be slammed by health experts for its claims that eating eggs is as bad for you as smoking cigarettes. Popularised by the likes of Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, What the Health encourages viewers to adopt and embrace a vegan lifestyle by exploring the links between common diseases and the consumption of animal products. The film makes claims like one serving of meat a day can increase the risk of developing diabetes by 51 per cent, and eating an egg is as bad as smoking five cigarettes. But health experts have hit back, accusing the documentary of cherry-picking data and information to support its arguments. New York City dietitian and nutritionist Mary Jane Detroyer said, “It’s distorted science, and if you misrepresent something like that, I just can’t trust anything you tell me.” One of Australia’s leading dietitians, Susie Burrell, elaborated further, telling News.com.au, “The issue is that all studies are linked to relative risk. This means the chance you will get ill. “It does not mean that every person who consumes processed meat (for which there is relatively strong evidence a high intake is linked to an increased risk of developing colon cancer), will actually get cancer. Such data also does not take into account dietary patterns. “Human beings do not eat one food, they eat a range of foods, and when it comes to nutrition, things are complicated. For example, cultures who have a high intake of processed meat, may also have very high intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, which appears to negate the risk.” What are your thoughts?

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Perfect smoked fish paella

Smoked honey sesame pork ribs

Hickory-smoked beef short ribs

Netflix documentary claims eating eggs is as bad as smoking