I haven't yet made these Fruit and Nut Bars, but I managed to consume several of them during my stay at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. Besides bowls of apples, oranges, and bananas provided at every location at the Ranch, guests of this health and healing destination can request additional healthy snacks at dining areas. Of everything offered, this was my favorite.

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1/2 cup chopped almonds, lightly toasted
3/4 cup honey
2 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup dried chopped apples
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced dates, about 10 medium
1 teaspoon cinnamon

The American Cancer Society (ACS) of Ohio has filed a lawsuit challenging the state's workplace smoking ban. The ban exempts some military veterans' halls and other private clubs -- and the ASC says this is not OK.

The exemption waters down the law and exposes people to secondhand smoke, say ACS spokeswoman Wendy Simpkins.

The smoking ban was approved by 58 percent of voters in November, took effect in December, and will result in fining beginning the first week in May. The law prohibits smoking in most public places, such as restaurants, bars, and office and excludes tobacco shops, designated hotel rooms, and enclosed areas of nursing homes. Halls and clubs can be excluded from the law only if there are no employees.

Jay Carey, spokesman for the state Health Department, says public health officials have the authority to set rules for enforcement. They ultimately decided that VFW halls and other private clubs were exempt if they had only members as employees. For the exemption to apply, such clubs also must be nonprofit and in a freestanding building. No nonmembers or children under age 18 can be present.

The ACS argues that the state rules are confusing and make the law unworkable.

Secondhand smoke rears its ugly head once again -- this time in the form of study results revealing high levels of secondhand smoke in the workplace can double the risk of lung cancer for non-smokers.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago looked at results from 22 studies conducted in the United States, Canada, Europe, India, Japan, and China. What they found -- and published in the American Journal of Public Health -- is a lung cancer risk 50 percent higher than normal for non-smokers exposed to smoke on the job for more than 30 years. They also found risk increases with level of exposure.

"We believe that our study provides the strongest evidence to date that smoking in the workplace does present a substantial risk to workers -- and particularly to workers who are working in highly exposed areas such as bar workers or restaurant workers," lead researcher Leslie Stayner said.

Previous evidence for increased lung cancer risk caused by secondhand smoke comes from studies of non-smokers married to smokers.

Secondhand smoke -- also known as passive smoke and environmental tobacco smoke -- is smoke from a cigarette, pipe, or cigar as well as smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers and inhaled by non-smokers. It can cause cancer, respiratory problems, and asthma in non-smokers and is leading to increased efforts by communities to ban or limit smoking in the workplace.

This week in France, bans begin in offices, stores, schools, and hospitals. Come January 2008, cafes and restaurants must also comply with bans. For now, smoking in these areas is permitted in hermetically sealed rooms without any services.

A new year. A new law. Effective today, smokers are banned from lighting up in most public places in Washington DC .

Restaurants, bars, and indoor workplaces are now considered smoke-free in the District. The new law takes full effect today -- January 2, 2007.

More than half of the nation's population now lives in areas where smoking is banned in public places, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.

In 2006 alone, nine statewide bans were adopted by lawmakers. In total, 22 states have passed smoking bans. And 16 states have passed laws banning smoking in bars.

In addition to Washington DC, smoking bans also go into effect today in Bloomington and Normal, Illinois.

The 2006 York Tour de Pink, a cycling tour fundraiser for the Young Survival Coalition, sponsored by York Peppermint Patties and The Hershey Company, is looking for riders to join the celebrity lineup for this year's event. Departing from Times Square in New York City, participants of the tour will be joining four of North America's top cyclists -- Kristin Armstrong of TEAm Lipton, Mari Holden of T-Mobile Women's Team, Dede Barry of World Champion and Olympic Silver Medalist and Michael Barry of Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team for a four-day ride to the Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

According to the 2006 York Tour de Pink rider's page, it will be a picturesque yet challenging route across central New Jersey and southern Pennsylvania with professional support, including SAG vans, mechanics and medical personnel, rest stops every fifteen miles and catered meals. And I think this is important because it is followed by an exclamation mark -- there will be hotel lodging and no camping out. First thing I thought was -- ahh, hot shower soft bed -- deserving of an exclamation mark.

The 2006 York Tour de Pink benefits the Young Survival Coalition, the only international network of breast cancer survivors, medical professionals and supporters dedicated to young women affected by breast cancer. They are looking for 100 riders to join the tour.

Fast food and junk food snacks are not good for health. Smoking is not good for health. Little sleep and non-existent periods of relaxation are not good for health. Lack of exercise and weight gain from stress eating are not good for health. But according to researchers, women who work long hours are prone to some or all these habits, and that is not a good thing for their health. Smoking, damage to the immune system due to unrelenting levels of stress, lack of exercise and weight gain all increase cancer risks.

Leeds University conducted a study that showed women typically respond to the stress of working long hours by engaging in negative habits that are detrimental to their immediate and long-term health. According to researchers, the reaction to stress can manifest in choosing unhealthy high fat and high sugar snacks before choosing healthier food.

The study compared how men and women respond to stress, and if there was a difference. Some experts stated that men are less likely to be affected by working long hours because they are not expected to multi-task when they get home from work in the same way women are expected to do. Researchers said most women agree to their take on the matter.

Knowing that some women alleviate stress in unhealthy ways, gives women an opportunity to step back and assess how they might choose better strategies for dealing with stress -- or in minimizing some of the causes of stress in their life. Aside from these research findings, I think both men and women in modern society are under enormous daily stress and we all need to step back and evaluate how much of our health we are willing to compromise.

As Washington churns ahead with its no smoking policy in public places -- joining many other cities with the same policy -- much of eastern Canada now requires smokers to light up outside as one of North America's most restrictive bans went into effect on Wednesday. Smoking already has been banned from most workplaces across Canada but the ban in Ontario and Quebec now extends to public places in general, including bars, restaurants and schools. The ban also calls on employers to close designated smoking rooms and requires retailers to ask for identification from cigarette buyers if they appear younger than 25. Though similar bans exist in some American states, few are as restrictive as the bans launched in Ontario and Quebec, according to anti-smoking advocates on both sides of the border.

It seems that more and more local governments are taking the step to listen to the warnings of second-hand smoke and cancer warnings as well as other health issues. This smoking ban sets a safety policy to protect those that do not want to light up or do not want to breathe the smoke of others doing so while in public places. It sets off many conversational debates in public places like bars and nightclubs -- where smoking, drinking, and gathering with friends have always been the norm in night-life socializing scenes. Restaurant and club owners fear business will drop but statistics show that to be untrue in many areas like NYC and Seattle that have booming night-life socializing scenes.

I have friends and family members that work in night-life environments and they have welcomed these laws making it easier on them to continue doing their work with less health complications and colds. One friend actually moved to NYC to make her living as a bar manager when they first banned smoking in public places. As an entertainer and having many friends that are in the music industry, it opens up more places for us to perform that we otherwise would pass by because of the smoking inside. Of course not everyone is happy with the laws.