It’s no secret that smoking during pregnancy harms fetuses. But a study in the current Archives of General Psychiatry suggests it may also foster violent crime. Armed with a 40-year-old survey of pregnant Danish women, researchers followed 4,200 male babies into adulthood. By the age of 34, men whose moms smoked a pack a day during the third trimester were twice as likely as others to have been arrested for a violent crime–and nearly that likely to be chronic criminals. The report speculates that smoking hurts fetal nervous systems, leading to impulsive behavior. Don’t assume this will scare smokers, though. A newly published survey shows that most smokers still deny they’re at increased risk of heart disease and cancer.
The Pap smear saves countless lives by helping doctors spot and treat nascent cervical tumors. The cost is prohibitive in many parts of the world, but researchers have identified an alternative. A new study shows that when the cervix is swabbed with vinegar, a flashlight will illuminate abnormal cells. In a study of 2,100 African women, researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of Zimbabwe found that vinegar highlighted 77 percent of dangerous lesions–twice the proportion detected by Pap smears. Despite a higher rate of false positives, the test may have a future in the West.
You may have seen the recent spate of ads touting “Vitamin O,” a supplement said to contain energy-boosting oxygen molecules. Customers boast that by swallowing the liquid they’ve zapped hemorrhoids, reversed lung cancer, even moistened dry eyes. But the Federal Trade Commission says Vitamin O is nothing but salt water, at $10 an ounce. The FTC has asked a federal judge to ban advertising of the stuff by Rose Creek Health Products and The Staff of Life, of Kettle Falls, Wash. “It’s not just salt water,” says company spokesman Dennis Roberts. “We have scientific explanations the FTC might not have considered.” But he faces a hard sell. “When consumers see claims for Vitamin O,” says Jodie Bernstein of the FTC, “we hope they think Vitamin No.”
