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Homeowner fined just $667 over fire that killed six people

A homeowner has been slapped with a fine for smoke alarm failure after a house fire killed six people. The 61-year-old woman has been forced to pay just $667 for failing to install legally required and compliant smoke alarms, after a father and his five children died in the property due to a deadly house fire. Donna Rose Beadel was the owner of the home on Russell Island where Wayne Godinet, 34, and his five sons were residing in August 2023. The house was engulfed in flames, also destroying two neighbouring homes and leaving several people needing treatment for minor burns and smoke inhalation, while the children's mother Samantha Stephenson, and another woman survived the blaze. Cleveland magistrate Deborah Vasta handed down the maximum fine of $667.25 to Ms Beadel for failing to comply with smoke alarm legislation, saying, "It seems a pittance, however it's not for me to comment on the laws." "It's absolutely no excuse that she failed to keep abreast of the laws required of an investment property owner in having the premises legally wired with smoke detectors after January 2022," Vasta said. The fine comes just weeks after the children's grandmother claimed her daughter had "begged" their landlord to <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/major-claim-in-investigation-into-deadly-house-fire-that-killed-five-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fix</a> the smoke alarms in the house. When Ms Beadel was charged for her involvement in the tragedy, Rebecca Stephenson claimed that her daughter had spoken to the landlord about updating the smoke alarms in the property just one week before the fire. Image credits: Nine

Legal

“Don’t be alarmed”: Better Homes and Gardens star makes shock announcement

Better Homes and Gardens star Karen Martini has announced she will be “stepping back” from her role on the program. After almost two decades on the show, the 52-year-old admitted she has “so much on my plate” this year as she balances a range of different projects. The chef and restaurateur will be taking a break from the show to focus on work, while also making more time for her teenage daughters, Stella, 17, and Amber, 15. She told <a href="https://7news.com.au/entertainment/tv/better-homes-and-garden-star-karen-martini-makes-shock-announcement-stepping-back-c-13310981">7News</a>, “With my two new restaurants— Johnny’s Green Room already open and Saint George set to launch soon — as well as so many other projects on the go, 2024 is shaping up to be my busiest year ever.” “My daughters are in their last teenage years too — it’s quite daunting as Stella is in year 12 and also on her Ls.” “With so much on my plate, I’ve made the decision to step back from Better Homes and Gardens (BHAG) this year while I focus on some of my other exciting projects.” “So don’t be alarmed if I’m not in your living room every Friday night.” Karen will continue to make the occasional guest appearance on the show, but will not feature in every episode. After the news of Karen’s departure was announced on the Better Homes & Gardens Instagram account, longtime viewers shared their messages of support to the chef in her next ventures. One person wrote, “Been watching since you joined in 2007 and I’ve loved watching you in the kitchen. All the best.” The 52-year-old also shared her excitement over the newest addition to the Better Homes line-up: chef and MKR judge Colin Fassnidge. “I’m so excited that my mate Colin Fassnidge is entering the Better Homes kitchen,” she went on. “I think his cheeky flavour is sure to spice up the show and I can’t wait to see him on air when we are back on Friday, February 2.” Image credits: Instagram

“Smoking hot”: Jess Rowe stuns in bikini snap

Jess Rowe has stunned her fans and celebrity pals with her latest bikini snap on Instagram. The 52-year-old star looked brighter than the sun as she happily posed and showed off her toned abs in a floral bikini. “Big, blue sky. Happy times!” she captioned the Instagram post. The former Today show host rocked a Camilla swimsuit which had floral and crystal details. She donned a halterneck bikini top and matching low-waisted hipster bottoms which flattered her toned figure. Rowe completed the outfit with a touch of glamour in her cat eye sunglasses and a patterned bucket hat which emphasised her ageless beauty. <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq4zkwrJfH-/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq4zkwrJfH-/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Jessica Rowe (@jessjrowe)</a> </div> </blockquote> Celebrity pals and fans flooded her comment section with compliments. “Bloody look at you woman,” gushed Big Brother’s Reggie Bird, before telling her to “enjoy the sunshine”. “I'll have what SHE'S having!!!! ❤️” complimented Sarah Harris, a co-host for The Project. “😍 Beautiful! Happy days!” wrote Channel Nine presenter Belinda Russell. Many of her fans have also expressed their awe, with one fan saying that “Peter [Overton] must be a very happy man”. “A supermodel you are. Smoking hot,” gushed one fan. “Look at those abs!” another exclaimed. “Beautiful inside and out ❤️🔥” complimented another fan. Image: Getty

Body

Crackdown on vapes after state records shocking number of toddlers smoking

Victoria has recorded an alarming number of toddlers ingesting nicotine from vapes. In the last year, Health Minister Mark Butler said that 50 children under four were recorded vaping, and that it is now the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools across the country. “The Victorian poisons hotline has reported that in the last 12 months, more than 50 children under the age of four have had to be reported to the hotline because of the dangerous ingestion of nicotine,” Butler told ABC Radio. “This is now the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools,” he added. Health ministers across the country are looking for ways to implement greater import and enforcement controls after the use of vapes has exploded in recent years, despite current regulations. Last year, a new rule was enforced where nicotine vapes were only available with a prescription. However a black market has emerged, and this market primarily targets children. “This is an industry shamelessly marketing, not just to teenagers but to young children. When you look at these things, pink unicorns and bubblegum flavours aren’t marketed to adults,” Butler said. The Health Minister also added that the multi-million dollar industry is threatening to undo all the hard work dedicated to phase out smoking. “This is an industry that is trying to create a new generation of nicotine addicts so they get around all of the hard work our country and other countries have done over recent decades to stamp out smoking,” he said. Butler used the example of a “very young” child who had been found with an “insidious” vape in her pencil case, in an attempt to disguise it as a highlighter. Earlier this month footage of an <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/jail-them-fury-after-baby-forced-to-vape-while-family-laughs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">11-month-old baby boy smoking a vape</a> went viral, when the distressed child was seen struggling for air as his teenage mother laughed at him. Butler said that when it comes to cracking down on the industry, “all options were on the table,” including better import and sales control. Butler refuses to normalise e-cigarettes, something that has been proposed by David Littleproud, the leader of the Nationals party. Butler said: “We can’t just say oh, well, it’s all too hard, let’s just normalise it because we know why these products exist”. “These products are pushed so hard by the tobacco industry because they want to create a pathway back to cigarettes.” Butler also cited research that showed that those who vape are three times as likely to take up cigarettes. Image: Getty, Facebook

Caring

"Am I the only one?" Magda reveals the alarming state of her health

Magda Szubanski has shared the details of her various health conditions, revealing she has battled several illnesses throughout her life. The actress and comedian, 61, listed her various health woes in an interview with <a href="https://www.nowtolove.com.au/tvweek" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">TV Week</a> magazine, and said she wondered if there were others with similar problems. "There are times in my life I've been absolutely blighted by illness," she said. "Osteoarthritis, migraines, anxiety - I also suffer from sleep apnoea - and that leads me to ask, 'Am I the only one who feels like this? Are other people feeling the same way? Do they have the same challenges?'" she added. The frank admission comes just days after Magda called for <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/body/magda-szubanski-calls-for-fat-people-to-be-protected-from-online-hate-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vilification rules</a> to be put in place for "fat people" online, only to be blasted by her following. The comedian shared the controversial tweet in which she wondered why "fat" people are not "protected" from hate speech online. She wrote, "It's interesting to me that you are banned from attacking just about every identity on Twitter except being fat. Why are we not protected from vilification?" Szubanski was then blasted by several heartless online users, as she received comments such as, "Have another Snickers bar. Sounds like your blood sugar is low," and "Lose some weight then." Image credits: Getty Images

Body

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? Image: Getty

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

Why you should still set an alarm when you retire

Retirement life means never having to set an alarm for work again, right? Well, while it’s true that you won’t have to get up super early to hotfoot it to the office anymore, there is still some benefit to setting that alarm each and every day. You’ve probably heard people talking about their body clock – usually this is in discussions about jet lag or living with newborn babies. But in fact your body clock will tend to be in much better shape if you wake up and go to bed at the same time each day. A better night’s sleep What you can expect to happen is that you should start to become tired at about the same time each night. While we’re not suggesting you need to give yourself a strict bedtime, it’s important to listen to your body’s cues for rest and not miss ‘the wave’ of tiredness, which can lead to a restless sleep. A more productive day Having a steady circadian rhythm (another term for your body clock) will make you more alert through the day as you aren’t tired from not getting enough sleep. You will also make the most of your day as you won’t be feeling the need for an afternoon nap. Less need for sleeping in Having your body adjust to waking at the same time each day, and ideally heading off to bed around the same time each night, means that you won’t feel the need for the weekend lie-in. As you won’t need to ‘catch up’ on sleep, you will be able to get up as normal and make the most of your weekend. The right amount of sleep After a while, you will be able to work out if what you are doing is giving you enough hours of sleep to be your most productive and alert. You will be able to adjust things so that if you are feeling sluggish in the mornings you might need to go to bed 30 minutes earlier from now on. Related links: <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/04/5-new-hobbies-to-try-now/">5 new hobbies to try now</a> <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/03/how-to-cope-with-redundancy-later-in-life/">Tips for coping with redundancy when you’re 60-plus</a> <a href="/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/03/retiring-from-work-not-life/">Tips to master retiring from work – not life</a>

Retirement Life

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

Spinach and smoked trout roulade

<h3>Ingredients</h3> <ul> <li>¼ cup (35 g) cornmeal or polenta</li> <li>200 g frozen English spinach, thawed</li> <li>1 tablespoon (20 g) butter</li> <li>2 tablespoons plain flour</li> <li>300 ml low–fat milk</li> <li>4 eggs, separated</li> <li>pinch of freshly grated nutmeg</li> <li>salt and pepper</li> <li>Smoked trout filling</li> <li>½ cup (125 g) reduced–fat cream cheese</li> <li>⅓ cup (90 g) fromage frais or sour cream</li> <li>2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill</li> <li>150 g skinless smoked trout fillet</li> <li>2 teaspoons lemon juice</li> <li>Tomato salad</li> <li>1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>2 teaspoons sherry vinegar</li> <li>pinch of caster sugar</li> <li>1 small onion, chopped</li> <li>175 g cherry tomatoes, halved</li> </ul> <div> <h2>Preparation</h2> <div data-url="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/recipes/spinach-and-smoked-trout-roulade"> </div> <ol> <li>Lightly oil a 23 × 33 cm Swiss roll tin and line with baking paper.</li> <li>Sprinkle with the cornmeal or polenta.</li> <li>Preheat the oven to 200°C.</li> <li>Squeeze the excess water out of the spinach, then chop finely.</li> <li>Melt the butter in a heavy–based saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for a few seconds.</li> <li>Off the heat, gradually whisk in the milk, then put back on a low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce bubbles and thickens.</li> <li>Remove from the heat and stir in the spinach, followed by the egg yolks, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.</li> <li>In a large clean bowl, whisk the eggwhites until stiff.</li> <li>Fold into the spinach mixture, one–third at a time.</li> <li>Spoon into the prepared tin and gently level the surface.</li> <li>Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until slightly risen and firm to the touch.</li> <li>Place the tin on a wire rack, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to cool for 5 minutes.</li> <li>Meanwhile, make the filling.</li> <li>Put the cream cheese in a bowl and mix in the fromage frais.</li> <li>Stir in the dill, and season with salt and pepper.</li> <li>Flake the trout into another bowl, and toss with the lemon juice.</li> <li>Turn out the spinach ‘cake’ onto the tea towel and carefully peel away the lining paper.</li> <li>Spread evenly with the cream cheese mixture, then arrange the smoked trout on top.</li> <li>Roll up the cake from one of the short ends.</li> <li>Transfer to a serving platter.</li> <li>For the tomato salad, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar and seasoning to taste in a bowl.</li> <li>Add the onion and toss to coat, then add the tomatoes and toss again.</li> <li>Cut the roulade into 12 slices using an electric carving knife or a large serrated knife.</li> <li>Serve with the tomato salad.</li> </ol> <div data-url="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/recipes/spinach-and-smoked-trout-roulade"> </div> </div> <div>Serves 6</div> <div>Preparation: 25 minutes</div> <div>Cooking: about 15 minutes</div> <div> </div> <div>Image: Readers Digest</div>

Food & Wine

Is there such a thing as the perfect alarm tone?

With the return to office work – and no longer being able to roll out of bed and straight into a Zoom meeting – many of us will be waking up earlier to beat the morning rush. So it’s important to ensure we’re on top of our alarm game. But what type of alarm provides peak alertness upon waking? <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Pythagoras.html?id=Sve3fLUG3bEC&redir_esc=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pythagoras</a> posited this same question in around 500 BCE. He believed specific songs – melodies that roused the energies – had the ability to counteract the drowsiness waking may bring. And he appears to have had a point. <a href="https://www.longdom.org/open-access/the-awakening-futures-sound-positive-commentary-on-the-efficacy-for-audio-to-counteract-sleep-inertia-64399.htmldoes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research</a> has now shown certain alarm sounds can indeed enhance our alertness upon waking. In particular, alarms that have the qualities of “tunefulness” (think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho7796-au8U" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC by The Jackson 5</a>) have melodies that energise the listener, and are great for effective waking. But to understand why this is the case, we first need to understand how our brains respond to complex stimuli when moving out of the sleep state. Waking up right is important Waking up groggy never feels right. And how we wake up can not only affect our mood and the day’s outlook, but also our cognition and mental performance. In some instances, grogginess after waking has the potential to be dangerous several hours later, by reducing our performance in <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2624-5175/2/2/17" target="_blank" rel="noopener">critical decision-making</a> (such as in health settings, emergency responses, security or while driving). This cognitive state of reduced alertness is referred to as “<a href="https://www.dovepress.com/sleep-inertia-current-insights-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NSS" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sleep inertia</a>”. It’s a growing concern as it can have serious consequences while performing high-risk tasks, including driving. How does the brain wake up? Transitioning from sleep to alertness does not follow an on/off switch-like system, as <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001679" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brain imaging techniques</a> have revealed. Waking relies on complex biological processes, including increased blood flow allocation to the brain. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11147165_The_process_of_awakening_A_PET_study_of_regional_brain_activity_patterns_mediating_the_re-establishment_of_alertness_and_consciousness" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Studies</a> show the brain regions important for alert performance (the prefrontal cortical regions) take longer to “start-up” than other areas (such as the basal ganglia) which are important for arousal. This means you can be awake, but not quite with it. Research has also shown <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9236630/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blood flow</a> activity within the brain to be diminished after waking, in comparison to the pre-sleep state. Thus, alert wakefulness may in part require mechanisms that encourage a redistribution of blood flow to the brain – something certain types of sound and music <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRE624795zU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can do</a>. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451718/original/file-20220313-19-1jxuuz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451718/original/file-20220313-19-1jxuuz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451718/original/file-20220313-19-1jxuuz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451718/original/file-20220313-19-1jxuuz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451718/original/file-20220313-19-1jxuuz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451718/original/file-20220313-19-1jxuuz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451718/original/file-20220313-19-1jxuuz4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=666&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>A positron emission tomography (PET) scan of the human brain can reveal areas with more activity (in red). WikiCommons</figcaption></figure> Another factor that influences alertness upon waking is the stage of sleep at the time. You’re less likely to feel groggy if you wake up from a light sleep, compared to a deeper slow-wave or REM sleep. A <a href="http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.edu/jjbareprints/psyc501a/readings/Carskadon%20Dement%202011.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">light sleep stage</a> is characterised by Theta wave frequencies (as measured from the brain’s electrical activity) and can be associated with feeling drowsy. In this sleep stage, arousal from external stimuli such as an alarm can quickly draw a person out of sleep. Conversely, deep sleep or slow-wave sleep consists of Delta wave frequencies, which are associated with unconsciousness. This is the more challenging sleep stage to fully wake up from. Alarm effectiveness also depends on age. Young adults aged 18 to 25 need louder alarms <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6715806/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">than older</a> people, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/pr1983189" target="_blank" rel="noopener">preteens</a> need an even greater threshold than young adults. You may require an alarm as much as 20 decibels louder at 18 than you would at 80. <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451719/original/file-20220313-21-1i8uamq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451719/original/file-20220313-21-1i8uamq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451719/original/file-20220313-21-1i8uamq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451719/original/file-20220313-21-1i8uamq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451719/original/file-20220313-21-1i8uamq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451719/original/file-20220313-21-1i8uamq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451719/original/file-20220313-21-1i8uamq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /><figcaption>Preteens need louder alarms than young adults (aged 18–25), who in turn need louder alarms than older people. Jason Rosewell/Unsplash</figcaption></figure> Is sound frequency and tune important? But when it comes to choosing an alarm, what exactly is the best choice? A growing body of evidence suggests different alarm sounds can positively influence human performance after waking. Our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2624-5175/2/4/31" target="_blank" rel="noopener">systematic review</a> published in 2020 showed temporal frequencies (the pitch of the sound as measured in Hertz) around 500 Hz are better at arousing young children than 2000+ Hz varieties. We lack research to say whether this also applies to adults, but it’s assumed the same alarm types would be beneficial. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/czyGmRXJ184?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>Example of a temporal T-3 alarm sound around 500 Hz.</figcaption></figure> Voice notifications such as a person yelling “wake up!” work better than higher frequencies. However, they are not as effective as 500 Hz tonal beeping alarms – similar to those preinstalled in most <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXhEz3hqlQE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mobile phones</a>. Our research also explores how qualities of music, and specifically melody, play a role in encouraging alert wakefulness. We found that the way in which people interpret their <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0215788&utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fyandex.ru%2Fnews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alarms “tunefulness”</a> also reflects how groggy they feel after waking. Here, people who use alarms that carry a tune they will readily hum along to will experience less grogginess than those with a standard “beeping” alarm. With this in mind, we developed a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2624-5175/2/2/17" target="_blank" rel="noopener">custom rhythmic melody</a> that led to significantly better performance upon and after waking, when compared to standard beeping alarms. <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PF37zV1BOw0?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption>We designed this experimental alarm tone to increase alertness and reduce morning grogginess. (Stuart McFarlane)</figcaption></figure> Other <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2004.00142.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studies</a> have also found popular music (which can be interpreted as being melodic) is good to counteract sleep inertia after a short nap, and even more yet if it is music the listener personally enjoys. What can I do to improve my waking alarm? What does all this mean for the day-to-day? Well, given all of the above, we believe the perfect alarm must sound something like this: <ul> <li>it has a a melody you can easily sing or hum along to</li> <li>it has a dominant frequency around 500 Hz, or in the key of C5 and</li> <li>it is not too fast or too slow (100 – 120 beats per minute is ideal).</li> </ul> Also remember the alarm must be louder for younger people (or for particularly deep sleepers). If we consider the default alarms available on our devices, much more work is needed – especially since research in this area is relatively new. Hence, we suspect the availability of custom alarm downloads will increase with time. Most pre-loaded alarms at the appropriate loudness will wake you, but specific designs (such as the one above) have been modelled on the latest research to not only encourage arousal, but also provide increased alertness. <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;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178902/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stuart-mcfarlane-1222051" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stuart McFarlane</a>, Researcher, Auditory Perception and Cognition, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RMIT University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/adrian-dyer-387798" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Dyer</a>, Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/rmit-university-1063" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RMIT University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-there-such-a-thing-as-the-perfect-alarm-tone-we-think-so-and-this-is-what-it-might-sound-like-178902" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>. Image: Getty Images

Technology

Kevin Rudd sounds alarm over Chinese invasion

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has spoken out about the chance of Taiwan being invaded by China and detailed several ways Australia can avoid “sleepwalking into war”, as reported by <a href="https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/former-pm-kevin-rudds-chilling-china-warning/news-story/feadbf7e68e90a4c3789a59802eb59af" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a>. Appearing on ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday night, Mr Rudd said few in the West realised how much Chinese leader Xi Jinping wanted to gain control of Taiwan. “It’s right up there next to Xi Jinping’s desire for the party to remain in power and for him to be the predominant leader within the Communist Party of China,” he said. Mr Rudd said there were only two things preventing China from invading Taiwan: questions of militaristic dominance and the risk of being slapped with similar sanctions to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. <iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FMrKRudd%2Fvideos%2F804940963809595%2F&show_text=true&width=560&t=0" width="560" height="429" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> “There has been a little too much excited commentary in the West about how China will seize on this strategic opportunity to move on Taiwan. I don’t think that’s the case,” Mr Rudd said. However, the former PM did note that the dynamic could shift if the balance of both military and economic power “continues to change in China’s favour”. He added that an invasion of Taiwan would likely be amphibious, unlike Russia’s land-based “blitzkrieg” invasion of Ukraine, and that war game modelling conducted by the US suggests that China would come out on top by just a thin margin. “In most of the war gaming which has been done so far - and these are desktop exercises by and large - if you look at what various US officials have said off the record and partly reported in the American media, the Chinese at this stage win most of the time,” Mr Rudd said. He said recent events meant the situation was being watched very closely by all parties, and that a potential invasion would depend on what the Taiwanese and US does next. “Taiwanese, for the first time in a very long time, I think, are now readdressing their national defence idea needs and I think they will be looking very carefully at the fight which the Ukrainians have put up against Russia,” he said. “I think it really does depend … on how much more the Taiwanese and the Americans do.” Mr Rudd said Australia’s role should be to encourage the US and other allies towards deterring any invasion, and that working with allies in Japan, South Korea and India was crucial to avoid “sleepwalking into war”. Image: Kevin Rudd (Facebook)

Travel Trouble

Ben Fordham slams Dr Swan's Covid "alarmism"

Radio broadcaster Ben Fordham has launched a scathing attack on the ABC's Dr Norman Swan, condemning his "Covid scare campaign" in the wake of the Omicron wave. The 2GB radio host jumped to the defence of Dr Angelique Coetzee, who "discovered" the Omicron variant in South Africa, who claims he has been subject to online "attacks" and abuse from scientists, doctors and global politicians for down-playing the severity of the variant. Fordham called out a series of doctors who he called "Covid alarmists", as he urged listeners not to listen to them after citing low deaths rates from the latest Covid variant. "This doctor [Coetzee] should be celebrated for her groundbreaking research on coronavirus but instead she had people trying to convince her to shut her mouth," he said."The death rate from Omicron is 0.1 per cent. Its fatality rate is the same as a bad flu season in Australia.""But the scare campaign has been in overdrive. At the start of the pandemic we were warned about 150,000 deaths in Australia. We've had 4,300.""All tragic but nothing like we warned about," he said. According to the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Department of Health</a>, the Australian death toll has been significantly higher since the Omicron variant, as opposed to the 2021 Delta variant. Fordham went on to slam "Covid cheerleader" Dr Swan who recently claimed that Omicron was not as mild as previously believed and gave little to no natural immunity. "Norman Swan was ignoring the science, he was ignoring the scientist who discovered Omicron," Fordham said.The radio host continued his praise of Dr Coetzee, who said she has been "accused of lying" by many global superpowers. "They are accusing me of lying, of downplaying Omicron because of how it has been in Europe … in their minds, it is impossible for a disease with more than 38 mutations to be mild.""I have stated many times before it can be a serious illness if you are unvaccinated and have comorbidities but for the majority of people it is a mild illness.""If a clinical feature proves I am wrong, then I will apologise."Fordham ended the segment by praising Dr Coetzee, who has vowed to "stick to her guns" and not give in to the pressure."Good on you doctor. Don't give in to the scaremongers," he said.Image credits: Instagram @benfordham9 @norman.swan

Caring

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

‘Holy smoke, what am I doing here?’: Maker Andrew shares his experience

In the latest episode of Making It Australia, the remaining Makers were tasked with inventing a large-scale device to solve a common problem. After wowing the judges with his chicken-powered alarm clock, Andrew was the next Maker to leave the show. The metalworking extraordinaire sat down with OverSixty to tell us about his experiences on the show and what he has gone on to do since. O60: What was the highlight of being a Maker? The highlight of being a Maker was to live and work with an incredibly talented, inspiring group of people for a long period of time. That is something that doesn't happen often in your life, and [I have] very strong, warm memories of it. O60: What surprised you most about your Making It experience? What surprised me most, I don’t think I was as prepared as much as I should have been. When I got there and assessed myself against the abilities of the other competitors, I was a bit intimidated because these people not only were great artists but had skills in all these other areas. And I thought, ‘Holy smoke, what am I doing here?’ And I said to them I’m the Volkswagen that snuck into the BMW car park, and [I’m] gonna get found out real quick. But I lasted longer than I thought. O60: On the show, you mentioned that you were formerly a booby trap instructor for the army. How did you make the transition to crafting and metalwork? That was one of many skills, many qualifications I had in the army. I was a mine warfare and booby trap instructor. I taught a couple of courses in the area, but my main employment was working with army tanks. But I did [work as a] booby trap instructor as one of my extra qualifications. Well, I got out of the army after 20 years. And then, as a 40 year old, joined the shire as an apprentice diesel mechanic. And I learned a whole lot of new skills there that I didn't have: workshop procedures and how to do things safely and they put me on a welders course so now I had some skills. And coming off of a farm we had 100 years or more … [I] had access to all these materials. And I now had a welder in my hand. So … just one day, the wife said to me, ‘Why don’t you go up to the shed and do something creative?’ and I built this cow. And I didn't think it was real good. But I took it down [to display] and no-one shot a hole in it or pushed it over with their ute. And someone said take it to an art show. Anyway, I did that and it won first prize. I couldn't understand how it would do that, because I didn't think it was very good. But the judges were academics out of Sydney and they saw something in it. And they gave me a fistful of money and my name in the paper and I thought, ‘This is alright, I’ll have another crack at this’, and it just flowed from there. O60: What’s next for you after Making It? Well I’ve got two basically completed public artworks in my shed that I’ve got to deliver, one to Maroopna, in Victoria and one in Jinjili, up the hill. I'm currently working on a fruit bat for a private commission. Next week, I'm jumping on a bus as a tour guide, touring the various public artworks I have in the region … and I’ve got the microphone, and I’ll tell them all about the artworks as we go around the district. O60: Making It posed challenges that saw you use a whole range of different skills and techniques, has it changed how you have gone about your creative practice since leaving the show? I’m now more open to try different things, and maybe mix what I'm doing with something else. You get into something and you're comfortable with it, you tend to stick with it, especially if it’s successful. But now I'm open to thinking about change and different things to stay in front of the game. O60: Last but not least, if you had the chance, would you do it again? If I knew that certain logistic problems were sorted, I would. Otherwise no. It's a once in a lifetime, amazing experience and you'd never be able to duplicate it a second time because it was the wonder of getting under the lights, and going to the city, and I'm a country boy and I hate driving around the city and it’s all those events all tied together [that] made it a once-only, amazing thing. I don't think I'd get the buzz out of it a second time. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUMFJGZpWbO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUMFJGZpWbO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by David Andrew Whitehead (@scrapartoz)</a> </div> </blockquote> With only five Makers remaining, Making It Australia returns next weekend for another crafty episode. Image: Making It Australia

Home & Garden

Alarming painkiller warning for Aussie families

Image: Shutterstock A cheap painkiller prescribed to millions of Australians every year is “like Santa Claus in a pill,” according to Sydney psychiatrist Dr Tanveer Ahmed. He said the drug Lyrica has “become all things to all people,” leaving an increasing number of patients addicted. “It is being dished out like lollies,” Dr Ahmed told A Current Affair. He says it is much easier for GPs to prescribe Lyrica than other painkillers like codeine, which are heavily regulated to prevent addiction. “There really is very little restriction, you can go and get a repeat at a pharmacy without question, you can go to doctors and there is very little monitoring,” he said. Finance broker Christalla Andreadis started taking Lyrica after suffering severe spinal injuries in a car accident in 2017, and now she’s struggling to stop. “Now everyone is going to know my dirty little secret,” she said. “I can’t go on like this, you suffer in silence and when you’re thinking, ‘I can’t do this anymore’, I don’t want to grow old like this.” The 52-year-old was embarrassed to admit she was outsmarted by a simple painkiller. “The drug gets its claws into your soul. It has taken every fibre of my being, is what it has taken me to try and come off it,” Ms Andreadis said. In the past two years, she has managed to reduce her dosage but can’t quit cold turkey. Gayle Wilson’s daughter Anita died after taking a deadly combination of Lyrica and opioids. “I feel as though I failed her. I couldn’t find anything else to do, to keep her alive,” Gayle said. Anita’s death at only 33 followed years of addiction to pain medication, which started after she had her wisdom teeth removed in 2017. Lyrica, as known as pregabalin, was originally prescribed to treat epilepsy and nerve pain. Manufactured by Pfizer, it was added to the Australian Pharmaceutical benefits scheme in 2013. The company launched a marketing blitz, investing $3.8 million into almost 500 education events teaching Aussie GPs about the drug. Pregabalin scripts skyrocketed from 36,000 a year in 2012 to more than 40 million by 2018. In America Pfizer have been prosecuted over the marketing of Lyrica. “They agreed to pay $2.3 billion for a healthcare fraud settlement, they were illegally marketing four different drugs and Lyrica fell under that umbrella,” Amy Kawaa explained. Amy started a support group for patients who beat addiction to Lyrica. When A Current Affair approached Pfizer, we initially received a one sentence response, saying Pfizer no longer owns Lyrica. The programs questions were then forwarded on to a company called Viatris, which was created late last year when a division of Pfizer merged with another pharmaceutical firm. Pharmacist Said Khodary said the number of Lyrica scripts he has filled has more than doubled in the past three years. "Anyone on a healthcare card, pension card, can pick it up for $6," Mr Khodary said. He's well-seasoned at spotting doctor shoppers. "They try to come up with lots of excuses, sometimes they're sweating, they're nervous, they're a bit anxious sometimes," he said. Victoria is the only state which has mandatory monitoring for Lyrica prescriptions. "There is no way for us to really monitor if they're getting prescriptions elsewhere. It would really help a lot," Mr Khodary explained.

Caring

Alarming new way the Vic outbreak is spreading

Victorian authorities say people are becoming infected with COVID after just "brushing past" strangers with the virus. Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said at least four of the state's 54 locally transmitted cases have come from "fleeting" contact between Victorians, “What we’re seeing now is people are brushing past each other in a small shop, they are going to a display home, they are looking at photos in a Telstra shop,” he said. “This is relatively speaking, relatively fleeting. They do not know each other’s names, and that is very different from what we have been before. “This is stranger to stranger transmission.” He said the ease with which the virus is spreading may be a feature of the Indian variant. “We are used with previous variants, we are more used to transmission roccurring in the home, in the workplace, where people know each other already, not all of those big social settings,” he said. “These are quite different.” “We have seen transmission in these places with very fleeting contact. We have transmission in places like the Telstra store in South Melbourne, JMD Grocers, the display home we talked about a few days ago, I’d add Craigieburn Central shopping centre. “They are all examples of transmission with very limited contact. With previous variants, we are more used to transmission occurring in the home, in the workplace, where people know each other already, not at all of those big social settings. These are quite different.” If anyone has been to any of the following sites in the past two weeks, they should come forward and get tested: • Craigieburn Central • Bay Street shops in Port Melbourne • Clarendon Street in the South Melbourne • Pacific Epping, also known as the Epping Plaza • The Epping North shopping centre • Broadway Reservoir

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Spinach and smoked trout roulade

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Ben Fordham slams Dr Swan's Covid "alarmism"

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

‘Holy smoke, what am I doing here?’: Maker Andrew shares his experience

Alarming painkiller warning for Aussie families

Alarming new way the Vic outbreak is spreading

Our Partners

News

Shop

Catalogues

Newspaper

Contests

Entertainment

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Property

Compare

Games

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Homeowner fined just $667 over fire that killed six people

“Don’t be alarmed”: Better Homes and Gardens star makes shock announcement

“Smoking hot”: Jess Rowe stuns in bikini snap

Crackdown on vapes after state records shocking number of toddlers smoking

"Am I the only one?" Magda reveals the alarming state of her health

What you need to know about smoking on major cruise lines

New research uncovers correlation between smoking and Covid

Why you should still set an alarm when you retire

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

Spinach and smoked trout roulade

Is there such a thing as the perfect alarm tone?

Kevin Rudd sounds alarm over Chinese invasion

Ben Fordham slams Dr Swan's Covid "alarmism"

Why smoking shouldn’t give movies an automatic R rating

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

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

‘Holy smoke, what am I doing here?’: Maker Andrew shares his experience

Alarming painkiller warning for Aussie families

Alarming new way the Vic outbreak is spreading

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