Kid Gyms are going to be added at McDonald's locations nationwide by 2008. That's exciting news for those with one of the estimated 63% of children under the age of 18 in their family who is considered to be obese by the American Foods Standards Industry! There are changes being demanded in other areas too!

The success of tobacco companies to market their products to children has caused concerned for many. From the candy cigarettes that many of us bought at the corner dime store when we were kids to the cool Joe that Camel uses, the marketing industry is demanding changes be made. Why? Because the fact that cigarette smoking (and consuming tobacco products in other forms as well) is harmful to your health.

It is well documented that heart disease, lung cancers and other fatal related conditions can be directly connected to tobacco smoking. Millions die each year from tobacco smoking related illnesses and still many sound as if they'll die any day! The enamel of the teeth are broken down by the over 400 chemicals contained in tobacco. The cells in the body are literally blocked from "breathing" in what they need when tobacco smoke is present in the body. The tobacco smoke is usually replacing food as a source of energy which depletes the body's storages and causes weakness and lack of energy. The lining of the lungs is slowly "smoked" away and there is no longer any protection provided against what the smoke does to the lungs. There are so many reasons that smoking is harmful, and not only to the smoker, but to others who happen to be around the smoker while he/she is smoking!

Second hand smoke has been blamed for the deaths of people who have never had a cigarette in their lives! The same effects listed above that affect the smoker, also affect the non-smokers, only in a more serious way. When a cigarette is smoked, the 400 chemicals contained in the tobacco are in essence "filtered" through the body. However, when someone who is not smoking a cigarette is breathing in second hand cigarette smoke, the smoke going into their lungs is not being filtered, it's just being breathed in. The non-smoker doesn't "breathe" back out the smoke filled air - but the smoker does. This causes the second hand smoker to be a victim who runs the same risks as the smoker of developing lung cancers, heart diseases and other fatal diseases. Kinda gives new light to letting your kids hang around the bowling alley-huh?

There are so many efforts at paying attention to the spoiled, irresponsible lifestyles Americans have become accustomed to, why not stop smoking. It's said that the effects of smoking begin to stop as soon as the smoker stops smoking. Energy is returned, food tastes better (which is why most gain weight when they quit smoking) and the lungs begin to clear, giving back one's ability to breathe deeply! Like the commercial says, would you like a bikini or bronchitis?