One in five smokers lights up while hospitalized

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The number of smokers lighting up on hospital grounds has fallen about seven percentage points since 1995, according to a new study. “It is encouraging that there has been improvement, but it’s discouraging that the nicotine replacement therapy has not been able to put more of a dent into this,” said the study’s lead author Susan Regan, an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. …

Eating in restaurants tied to higher calorie intake

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In study findings that may not surprise many people, kids and teens ate more calories – including more fat and more sugar – on days when they had a meal from a fast-food or sit-down restaurant. “Parents (should) realize that restaurant consumption is not a straight-off substitute for eating at home. Restaurant consumption and fast-food consumption should not be the norm,” said lead researcher Lisa Powell from the University of Illinois at Chicago. …

Supreme Court: abortion protester may deserve lawyer fees

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court on Monday said anti-abortion protesters may be entitled to recover attorneys’ fees from a South Carolina sheriff’s office that had stopped them from displaying graphic signs showing aborted fetuses at demonstrations. In its first decision since the 2012-2013 term officially began last month, the court reversed a ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals against Steven Lefemine and Columbia Christians for Life, which had sought to recover the fees. …

Illinois senator vows January return to Washington after stroke

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Republican Senator Mark Kirk, who suffered a stroke last year, hopes to return to Washington in January, his spokesman said on Monday. Kirk, 53, won President Barack Obama’s former seat in the U.S. Senate in 2010. He is not up for election this year. Kirk first made the comments on Sunday to a Chicago TV station at a fund-raiser for the clinic where he is receiving out-patient treatment. The event was Kirk’s first public appearance since he suffered a stroke last January. …

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