Editor's note

Many people smoke cigarettes only occasionally and, as “social smokers,” they may think they are not endangering their health. But a new study shows that, by some measures, they are harming themselves just as much as a daily smoker. Bernadette Melnyk, dean and professor of nursing at The Ohio State University, explains that “once people start opening packs of cigarettes, whether it’s for daily use or just to socialize at a party, they’re entering the same on-ramp toward serious health problems.”

For two decades, the international community has attempted to stop North Korea from developing its missile program. Daniel Salisbury of the Middlebury Institution of International Studies at Monterey considers the impact of such efforts. Are they a failure?

And it’s been just about 40 years since NASA launched the Voyager spacecrafts, which famously carried messages from Earth for any alien life forms they encountered. So far no ETs have gotten in touch based on the Golden Records and their collection of audio recordings and encoded images. But Penn State astronomer Jason Wright says they’re a success anyway.

Lynne Anderson

Senior Editor, Health & Medicine

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Social smoking is just as bad on your heart as regular smoking, a new study suggests. California Department of Health Services

Why social smoking can be just as bad for you as daily smoking

Bernadette Melnyk, The Ohio State University

About one in 10 Americans say they sometimes smoke, often in social settings. Many think it's not so bad for them. A new study has some scary findings, when it comes to matters of the heart.

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