The risks of vaping

November 28, 2018 victoria1213 Leave a comment

Image taken from: https://www.rand.org/blog/2017/11/can-vaping-help-smokers-quit-the-real-story-from-a.html

According to theTruth.com, despite all the anti smoking campaigns used 20 years ago, in 1998, 23% of teens still smoked cigarettes. Skip ahead to 2005, and teen usage of E-cig vaping devices has increased to 16%.

Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances that is easily accessible. Nicotine mimics an acetylcholine receptor in the brain, but also reduces the number of receptors that the brain produces. The long-term brain changes caused by continued nicotine use can result in addiction.

E-cigs were originally intended for people who wanted to quit smoking cigarettes but weren’t ready to quit nicotine cold turkey. Vaping has been proven to be harmful to people in the same ways as smoking cigarettes. They might not contain the chemicals found in tobacco, but they still contain cancer causing chemicals that affect your respiratory and circulatory systems.

These 5 shocking facts about vaping might make you think twice about picking up one of these hand held smoking devices.

Nicotine from vaping can damage blood vessels.

Vaping for even 30 minutes a day with an e-cig containing nicotine, was proven to increase stiffness in the arteries while also increasing blood pressure.

The primary ingredient in vape liquid turns into formaldehyde, a known cause of cancer, when it’s heated.

When you vape, or inhale this vapor, you are willingly exposing yourself to cancer causing chemicals.

E-cigarette companies target youth in their advertising

The companies will purposefully target youth by including themes like rebellion, independence, and sex in their advertisements. Another way they target youth is by making the vape liquid in sweet or fruity flavors.

Every month, in the U.S., more than 100 children, less than 6 years old are poisoned from ingesting vaping liquid

The colorful packaging and sweet flavors of these liquids make young children want to eat it.

E-cigs and vapes have gone unregulated by federal authorities since the ’60s.

For more than 50 years, e-cig and vape companies didn’t have to register their products, disclose ingredients, or get approval from the FDA before selling them. They weren’t officially regulated until August 2016.

For more information, please visit: https://www.thetruth.com

Books/Art, Events

NaNoWriMo

November 28, 2018 deitychildren Leave a comment

by: Vivian S

https://nanowrimo.org/press “Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month” — Image taken from: https://nanowrimo.org/press Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month

In July 1999, 21 people in the San Francisco Bay Area challenged one another to write 50,000 words in one month. Surprisingly, they found it fun and decided to continue on doing it. It has grown since then, with 394,507 people participating in 2017, in 646 regions.

National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo, is a challenge that anyone can take on to write 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November. They have a website where you can sign up and make an account, and it tracks your progress and tells you how many words you should write each day to complete that goal. With the website, you can receive pep talks from other authors, get support, meet other writers online, find out about events in your area, and all around challenge yourself. NaNoWriMo awards badges that you can earn over the month for your achievements.

Some novels written over the course of NaNoWriMo have been published and become successful. Examples include Marissa Meyer’s Cinder and Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl.

NaNoWriMo is run by a non-profit organization that hosts other events as well. They have a Young Writers Program and a Camp NaNoWriMo. They used to do a script writing event, but they don’t do it any longer.

In the Young Writers Program, you can participate alone or in a classroom. You can set word count goals and work toward them. Educators can create online classrooms where they can keep track of student progress.

In April and July, Camp NaNoWriMo is hosted, and it is where you set your own word count goals and work toward them.

Even after November, you are still urged to continue to work on your NaNoWriMo novel. In January and February, they host “Now What?” months where you can work on revising and publishing your novel.

NaNoWriMo is an event that anyone can take on to put words on paper (or computer) and challenge themselves.

For more information, go to https://nanowrimo.org

National

12 people killed in California bar

November 28, 2018 elliotwallarticles Leave a comment

On November 8th, 2018, another mass shooting occurred at a local college bar in California. There was a total of 12 people that were shot and killed that day.

The gunman responsible for this tragedy was a 28-year-old former Marine, Ian David Long, who went by David Long. He was divorced, with no known children, or owned property. According to investigators, he used to hang around the area of the shooting often. He had a few previous run ins with the law where there was a disturbance at his home. Apparently, he was acting irrational according to police.

David Long reportedly ended his shooting spree by killing himself inside the bar.

The shooting took place at Borderline Bar & Grill, a popular bar in Thousand Oaks, California. The bar is a popular place for local college students. Police say they were surprised that this shooting took place in this city, because it is considered to be one of the safest cities in the United States.

David Long’s friends did not describe him as someone who would commit this horrific crime. One of his high school friends said, “The Ian I knew would not do this.” Another one said, “I don’t know what the hell happened.” All four friends that were interviewed clearly showed that they were surprised it was David.