Features

By Joel Shannon

The upcoming New Year has been widely heralded as the start of a new decade — the 2020s. But an old timekeeping dilemma has led some to contend we’re celebrating too early and should actually wait until January 1, 2021.

A decade is a period of 10 years — that isn’t disputed. But a glitch in our calendar system creates a problem if you think decades should begin in years ending with a zero. If you continue the pattern back about 2020 years, you run into a major issue.

That’s because there is no “year zero” in our calendar system, explained Craig Callender, a professor of philosophy at UC San Diego who has studied the physics and experience of time.

The lack of a year zero means the only consistent way to measure decades — or centuries or millennia — is to start them in years ending in one: That’s the theory presented in explanations of the debate published by the Farmer’s Almanac, timeanddate.com, the New York Times and others.

But because a decade is simply a unit of 10 years, there is no right answer, Callender told USA Today.

Here’s the argument explained:

The case for beginning the decade in 2021

The basis of this argument is a single calendar year that happened more than two millennia ago.

At that point in time, our current calendar system pivots from years labelled BC — “Before Christ” — to years labelled AD — “anno Domini” or “in the year of the Lord”. It’s an attempt to centre the calendar around the birth of Jesus, although the historical accuracy of that date has been called into question.

There is no year zero in the switch, Callender said. The BC years count down to 1 BC, which is immediately followed by AD 1.

The lack of a year zero means the first AD decade started at year 1 and ran until the end of year 10; the second decade started on year 11.

Follow the pattern for 200 more decades, and here we are — still one year away from the start of the next decade, which will begin on January 1, 2021.

The case for beginning the decade in 2020

People who say we should wait a year to celebrate the new decade have a point, but it’s not a very good one, according to Callender.

Marking the beginning of a decade in a year ending in one is out of step with how we think and talk about time, he said.

When we count our children’s ages, we start at zero — not one. When we talk about decades such as the 1960s, we start at years ending with zero — not ending in one.

Celebrating the beginning the decade on Jan. 1, 2020, simply makes things easier in the present day, Callender said. It’s a convention that is “pretty good for everything really, unless you run it all the way back”.

The widely-documented argument between timekeeping purists and the average person is “pretty silly”, he commented. The reality: There’s no perfect solution that will please everyone.

Whereas smartphones makers seem to listen to what users really want and bring significant innovation to the devices at least one a year and sometimes even more frequently, it seems like laptop computers manufacturers are not paying enough attention to the market expectations. If sheer processing speed is still a critical point, with time other specifications have become even as important if not more.

Battery life is one of the aspects of the technology that is a priority for everyone. True, some progress has been achieved and laptops made after 2017 feature batteries that last five to seven hours, much longer than the older models. Still, this is not enough compared to smartphones that can work a full 24-hour cycle without the need to recharge.

Shorter start-ups and restarts, the time it takes from turning on the computer to the moment it is ready and fully operational, is another such demand. SSDs (Solid State Drives) have given laptops a serious boost in that sense, but mobile phones are still significantly faster.

Intel, the world leader when it comes to making processors, has been announcing its Project Athena (code name) for a few months now. It precisely aims to respond to all the above criteria and to a few others as well, like better network connectivity in terms of not only bandwidth but also stability, and — as the ultimate feature — to start integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the machines.

Indeed, if AI was more or less fiction and was mainly seen in movies or big research centres dedicated to professionals and academics, it is now a daily reality and is going to impact most applications and tasks, including for example online banking and airline booking.

Intel likes to call its Project Athena “Laptop Innovation Rooted in Human Understanding” and says it is a People-Led design, or People-Centred innovation. It was expected that we would see the new machines by the end of this year! At this point in time however, 2020 will be more like it!

Interestingly Intel will not brand the new laptops with its name but is working closely with the major laptop makers on the project: Asus, HP, Dell, Samsung, Acer and Lenovo, to name only a few — the laptops to come will bear their names.

The knowledgeable techradar.com says that “Considering the target spec and features of Project Athena laptops, … it is possible that these are going to be high-priced laptops”. The same source indicates that “These devices offer always-on connections and remarkably long battery life, but don’t use Intel hardware.”

Another interesting point is that the new laptops with be able to run the standard Windows 10 operating system, as well as Google’s Chrome OS. Although it does not have the wide acceptance that Windows enjoys, the latter is known for its impressive speed and simplicity of use. It is not to confuse with the company’s Chrome browser, “Chrome OS is built around that web browser” (quora.com).

Apparently the next laptops conceived under the Project Athena constraints will not only answer the above essential needs, but will also have brighter and sharper screens, will be lighter, slimmer, will all have touch screens and backlit keyboards and several ultra-fast USB ports as standard technical characteristics.

It remains to be seen when exactly consumers will be able to actually buy them, and what will they be called, given that Project Athena is but a temporary code name.

NEW YORK — A new study has found that women who smoke while pregnant, even if they have cut down the number of cigarettes they smoke each day, could be increasing their risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus.

Carried out by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Israel, in collaboration with Ohio University, USA, the new study analysed data collected by the United States’ Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 222,408 women, of which 12,897 (5.3 per cent) were diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

The women had been asked to report any changes in smoking status during pregnancy, including whether they were a non-smoker, had quit smoking, had reduced the amount smoked, or if they smoked the same or more, and self-report on whether they had gestational diabetes — a condition that can lead to higher risks for pregnancy and birth complications such as macrosomia (larger than average babies) and caesarean deliveries. 

The findings, published this week in Obstetrics & Gynecology, showed that after taking into account well-known risk factors for gestational diabetes, such as maternal age, pre-pregnancy body mass index and pregnancy weight gain, the pregnant women who smoked the same or more cigarettes per day as they did before becoming pregnant were nearly 50 per cent more likely to develop gestational diabetes. 

Reducing the amount of cigarettes smoked each day did reduce the risk, but even women who cut down still had a 22 per cent higher risk of gestational diabetes than women who never smoked or who quit smoking two years before they became pregnant.

“Ideally, women should quit smoking before they try to become pregnant,” said Dr Yael Bar-Zeev. “Further, due to the high risks involved, it’s imperative that pregnant smokers have access to pregnancy-specific smoking cessation programs. Currently, in the United States and Israel, these services are not accessible enough or not tailored for pregnant women and that needs to change.”

The researchers also pointed out that smoking during pregnancy is one of the most significant risk factors for poor pregnancy outcomes, putting babies at a higher risk for premature birth, low birth weight and developmental delays than babies born to non-smoking mothers.

By Sonaiya Kelley 

LOS ANGELES — The post-Thanksgiving weekend is usually a box-office dead zone, which is why studios don’t often roll out major wide releases in this corridor. Even among holdovers, it’s common for movies to drop more than 40 per cent from the previous weekend, and Disney’s mega-hit “Frozen 2” was not immune, dropping 60 per cent.

Still, the animated film continued its winning streak into a third consecutive weekend, adding $34.7 million for a cumulative total of $337.6 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore. Globally, the film has earned $919.7 million and is poised to become Disney’s sixth film to cross the $1 billion milestone this year.

The only major new release of the weekend, STX Entertainment’s animated musical “Playmobil: The Movie”, opened outside the top 10 with $668,000.

The $75 million film, based on a German toy brand, features the voices of Daniel Radcliffe, Kenan Thompson, Meghan Trainor, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jim Gaffigan and Adam Lambert. STX serves solely as a distributor on the film, picking it up after original distributor Global Road went bankrupt.

The result is the fourth-worst opening ever for a movie playing in more than 2,000 theatres, dangerously close to current record holder “The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure”, which opened with $443,000 on its way to $1 million in 2012.

Directed by Lino DiSalvo from a script by Blaise Hemingway, Greg Erb and Jason Oremland, “Playmobil: The Movie” had a mixed reception, with a B-plus CinemaScore and a 19 per cent “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

In second place, Lionsgate’s “Knives Out” added $14.1 million in its second weekend (a 47 per cent drop) for a cumulative $63.5 million. The film has earned $124 million in global ticket sales.

At No. 3, Fox’s “Ford v Ferrari” added $6.5 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $91.1 million. The film has earned $167.6 million in worldwide receipts.

In fourth, Universal’s “Queen & Slim” added $6.5 million in its second weekend (a 45 per cent drop) for a cumulative $26.9 million.

Rounding out the top five, Sony’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood” added $5.2 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $43.1 million.

At No. 6, Focus Features moderately expanded “Dark Waters”, adding 1,918 screens and $4.1 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $5.3 million.

In seventh, STX Entertainment’s “21 Bridges” added $2.8 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $23.9 million.

At No. 8, Paramount’s “Playing With Fire” earned $2 million in its fifth weekend for a cumulative $42 million.

In ninth place, Lionsgate’s “Midway” added $1.9 million in its fifth weekend for a cumulative $53.4 million.

Rounding out the top 10, “Joker”, from Warner Bros., added $1 million in its 10th weekend for a cumulative $332.1 million.

In limited release, Neon’s French drama “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” opened in two locations to $67,105, an impressive per-screen average of $33,552.

Directed by Céline Sciamma, the film stars Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel as two women who fall in love after one is hired to secretly paint the wedding portrait of the other. It earned a 97 per cent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The critically acclaimed film is only in theatres for one week for an awards-qualifying run. It will return to theatres in February.

Amazon opened the biographical drama “The Aeronauts” two weeks before its streaming launch but did not report box office figures.

The film, which tells the story of a pilot and scientist fighting to survive in an experimental air balloon, reunites “The Theory of Everything” stars Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne. It earned a 72 per cent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

1091 Media opened the documentary “Midnight Family” in one location to $3,500. It earned a rare 100 per cent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

This week, Sony opens the action adventure “Jumanji: The Next Level”, Universal reveals horror remake “Black Christmas”, and Warner Bros. opens the critically acclaimed “Richard Jewell”.

In limited release, Lionsgate debuts “Bombshell”, A24 premieres the Adam Sandler crime drama “Uncut Gems”, Fox Searchlight opens Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life”, and Amazon releases the biographical drama “Seberg”.

A long-serving compact saloon whose popularity in the Middle East and Jordan has defied its manufacturer’s plans to move away from cars to an SUV-heavy line-up, the Mitsubishi Lancer maintains a presence in certain developing markets, even after being discontinued for more developed markets back in 2017. 

Still serving even after its rally-bred iconic high performance Lancer Evolution was axed in 2016, the garden-variety Lancer EX, as it is now known is well pitched for developing markets, with its traditional saloon body style, athletic design, tried and true driveline, equipment levels and keen pricing.

First unveiled in pre-production guise as the Mitsubishi Concept X and launched with a very similarly aggressive design soon after in early 2007, the Lancer’s snouty style and predatory posture seems to have been developed with the then supercar-humbling Evolution variant in mind.

However, it was and remains one of few cars to seamlessly translate such aggressive design cues in a toned down interpretation for affordable and mass market base model versions, and even convincingly incorporate a giant rear wing in current GT trim in a brazen nod to the much more powerful discontinued Evolution.

Alert and athletic aesthetic

Lean and sharp with rising waistline, high-set boot, defined wheel-arches, bulging bonnet and alert, athletic stance, the Lancer is however defined by its dramatic jutting fascia and slim heavily browed headlights.

First launched with a huge, hungry, gaping and tall grille and lower intake combo, the Lancer EX has, however, evolved and now sports a slightly softened look that emphasises width over overt aggression by more horizontally incorporating the middle bumper section rather than framing it within a single vertically inclined outline. Subtle smoothened, the Lancer EX’ bumper also features bigger side fog-light housing/faux intake slats.

Offered with a trimmed-down driveline options including two naturally-aspirated transverse 4-cylinder engines and three gearbox options driving the front wheels, the pick of the Lancer EX range is the 2-litre model combined with the 5-speed manual gearbox, with 147BHP output and perky 9.6-second 0-100km/h performance.

Similar in performance, the 2-litre model with continuously variable transmission (CVT) and the 1.6-litre manual gearbox model deliver nearly identical acceleration in the mid 10-second range.

In its favour, the CVT version promises good efficiency and seamless delivery, but CVT always lacks a traditional gearbox’s defined ratio changes and direct driver involvement.

Progressive delivery

More popular for high import duty and higher fuel price markets is however the 1.6-litre version mated with the optional 4-speed automatic gearbox. Developing 115BHP at 6,000rpm and 113lb/ft torque at 4,000rpm, its delivery is smooth and progressive. Accurate throttle control and linear power and torque curves make it easy to precisely dial in what power is needed in a given situation. Eager and more biased for top-end delivery, the Lancer EX 1.6 does however deliver adequate low-end and mid-range response, while gear shifts are sufficiently quick and smooth and fuel consumption is restrained.

If not a particularly powerful or torque-rich engine, the Lancer’s 1.6-litre unit is perfectly adequate and quick enough in carrying its 1,200kg weight a decent pace when mated with the 5-speed manual.

However, with the 4-speed gearbox, it lacks some of the response and eagerness, with gaps between ratios bigger than ideal to maintain power accumulation as well for overtaking and for driving steep inclines. 

In terms of headline figures, the 1.6-litre 4-speed version is somewhat slower through 0-100km/h in 13.6-seconds, but doesn’t fall far behind other versions with its healthy 180km/h top speed.

Manoeuvrable and comfortable

Still fresh in design after so many years, the Lancer EX is also as relevant as ever on the road. Compact and narrow, it is easy to manoeuvre and park, with light accurate steering and a tight 10-metre turning circle.

Eager and agile through narrower and twistier roads, the Lancer EX might not be a sports saloon — at least not in base 1.6 guise — but it turns in tidily, offers good grip and well controls lean through corners, yet is stable, smooth and comfortable on highways. The GT version meanwhile includes rear anti-roll bars for better control and dynamism.

Settled on rebound and over crests, the Lancer EX rides comfortably over imperfections, and features well-judged 205/60 R16 tyres that well-absorb impacts yet provide good grip and handling properties. Refined for its segment, the Lancer EX deliver good, if not class-leading passenger and luggage room, while driving position and front visibility are also plus points.

User-friendly and pleasant enough inside, the Lancer EX’s cabin does however feature more hard plastics than pricier cars of similar size and approximate segment, while equipment levels include most of the important mod cons.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1.6-litre, transverse 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 75 x 90mm

Compression ratio: 11:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, multi-point injection

Gearbox: 5-speed auto, front-wheel-drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 115 (117) [86] @6,000rpm

Specific power: 72.3BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 95.8BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 113.5 (154) @4,000rpm

Specific torque: 96.8Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 128.3Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 13.6-seconds

Top speed: 180km/h

Fuel capacity: 59-litres

Length: 4,625mm

Width: 1,760mm

Height: 1,480mm

Wheelbase: 2,635mm

Tread, F/R: 1,530/1,530mm

Overhang, F/R: 1,010/980mm

Minimum ground clearance: 140mm

Kerb weight: 1,200kg

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/Multilink, coil springs

Steering: Power-assisted rack & pinion

Turning circle: 10-metres

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/drums

Tyres: 205/60R16

Black Power and Palestine: Transnational Countries of Colour

Michael R. Fischbach

California: Stanford University Press, 2019

Pp. 278

At a time when solidarity with the Palestinian cause had limited resonance, African Americans were the first community in the US to reach out to the Palestinians, with the rising Black Power movement leading the way. In this fascinating and highly readable book, Michael Fischbach, professor of history at Randolph-Macon College, chronicles the people, organisations, events, and debates that made a difference.

The key point in Fischbach’s analysis is that it was not just a question of African Americans sympathising with the Palestinians but rather of seeing their situation as similar and making common cause. “African Americans were keen observers of the Arab-Israeli conflict in the 1960s and 1970s and interpreted it in ways that related to their own lives and priorities at home”—a precursor to the Internet-facilitated solidarity that arose between Palestinians and black Americans during the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri. (p. 2) 

Such connections long predate the spread of the Internet. Fischbach gives much credit to Malcolm X for promoting a global perspective in the Black movement. On behalf of the Nation of Islam, he visited Cairo, Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem in the 1950s. “Coming as it did, during the era of decolonisation in African and Asia in the 1950s… the Nation of Islam’s internationalist emphasis did much to pave the way for Black Power internationalism and support for the Palestinians later in the 1960s.” (p. 10) 

The 1967 war was the turning point. Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the first civil rights group to publicly oppose the Vietnam War and a major component of the Black Power movement, published an article in their newsletter which strongly criticised Israel and expressed solidarity with the Palestinians. The article unleashed a debate that reverberated throughout the civil rights movement where rising Black Power militants were challenging the moderate leadership to adopt more radical stands on domestic and foreign policy issues. 

Civil rights organisations across the board faced a dilemma. Having enjoyed the support of white liberals and American Jews in particular, they were threatened with losing their funding if they did not come out in support of Israel. Fischbach meticulously documents the debate that raged in major organisations that, in many cases, were demanded by Jewish funders to take a pro-Israeli stance. Fischbach devotes an entire chapter to tracing the evolution of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., contending that “he was not a knee-jerk supporter of Israel to the detriment of the Palestinians and other Arabs” as is sometimes portrayed. (p. 72)

Despite being branded as anti-Semitic and un-American, SNCC held firm, greatly influenced by awareness of Israel’s intimate relations with apartheid South Africa, as well as insistence on their own autonomy. “The negative reaction to the stance on the Middle East convinced SNCC cadre that whites cynically thought that blacks were welcome to talk about domestic race relations at home but not to take stances on foreign policy issues… It was now not only a matter of defending a cause they supported but also a matter of racial politics and identity: defending the principle that blacks could form and articulate their own stances independently of liberal white interference.” (pp. 44-45)

The emergence of the Black Panther Party and the Black Arts Movement added new dimensions to African Americans’ perception of the Middle East, going beyond politics into a question of identity, seeing the Palestinians as people of colour like themselves struggling against “white” imperialism and Israel. Relations were forged with major Palestinian resistance organisations, facilitated by Panther Information Minister Eldridge Cleaver’s exile in Algeria. “Black Power’s stance alongside the Palestinians was… part and parcel of the very revolutionary identity it sought to create.” (p. 121)

By the mid-1970s, the Black Power movement and Black Panther Party were in decline, but not without the latter having inspired Arab Jews in Israel to form an organisation of the same name. Yet, as Fischbach points out, “black support for the Palestinians was outlasting the heyday of Black Power and becoming more mainstream”. (p. 129)

By the 1980s, “African Americans were once more travelling to the Middle East and meeting with Arafat, but this time they were far more mainstream figures…” and determined to play a positive role in US foreign policy. (p. 193)

Jesse Jackson, one-time presidential candidate, is only one example. Still, some of the same issues prevailed; racism against African Americans intertwined with foreign policy, as in the case of Andrew Young, who was forced to resign as the US’s UN ambassador for meeting with the Palestine Liberation Organisation. African American leaders contended that had Young been part of the white establishment, he would not have been dismissed. 

“The various trips to the Middle East made by mainstream blacks in the wake of the Andrew Young affair showed that the Arab-Israeli conflict remained a lightning rod for expressions of black grievances and concern about identity, place and political action in America at the dawn of the 1980s.” (p. 211)

“Black Power and Palestine” is history at its best. Well-researched and interesting to read, it attests to the long-term impact that grass-roots activists can have, though it may not be recognised at the time. Fischbach delves into the recent past to elucidate a pivotal time and issue that still has prime relevance today.

The power of suggestion to influence my eating decisions is stronger than I thought. But now I enjoy stripping the power away from the power of suggestion and reclaiming my healthier self! 

When I watch my favourite television shows with fit and trim detectives as characters, I don’t feel like snacking. At most, I drink my water or sip my tea. However, if I’m watching shows where the lead character is baking a fresh apple pie between solving crime cases, I start to crave comfort food! 

The power of suggestion is indeed stronger than we think and it’s not just our choices of television shows and YouTube videos, but also the commercials in between that can do us in. How many of us drool by just looking at cheese stretching across our television sets in the ads about burgers? 

Don’t get me started on the chocolate commercials!

From sight to smell

Even when I decide I’m going to be healthy and get in an hour of walking at the mall, the power of suggestion attacks my senses as soon as I smell that delicious aroma of cinnamon buns! That deadly combination of sugar, fat and carbs threatens to clog my arteries. The power of smell is even stronger than a visual suggestion. 

We all remember the smell of delicious hot bread coming out of the oven back in the day when our parents and grandparents baked it fresh-it was irresistible. The power of smell takes me back to my childhood memories in a flash and who of us wouldn’t want to regain our youth! The only problem is when I give into these temptations, I get sucked into a cycle that is hard to break! 

Awareness is already half the battle

I know not to walk into the food courts of malls if I’m hungry because I’m more likely to break down my defences and fall for their tricks if I’m starving. The same is true if I’m going to watch television on an empty stomach; I know I’ll end up reaching for junk food which is why I shouldn’t have it in stock in the first place. Impulse eating is greatly affected by what we see and smell.

The power of suggestion is only powerful if we are naïve and unaware of our true hunger signals. Let us ask ourselves if we’re truly hungry and not reaching for food because it’s been suggested to us by people or media or any source other than our bodies. 

It’s hard enough with our hormones playing tricks on our brains, messing with hunger signals; we certainly don’t need to add outside interference!

Like the flu shot, some defence is better than no defence! Making sure I’m not hungry or thirsty is my number one defence. Filling up on healthy foods and making sure my water bottle is with me is like armour this Desperate Dieter takes to the battlefield! What’s your number one defence?

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

PARIS — Doctors treating a patient with a rare lung disease usually caused by exposure to industrial metals say it may instead be the first case linked to vaping.

Electronic cigarettes are sold as safer alternatives to traditional tobacco products and as aids to stop smoking. But they have been implicated in a growing number of recent deaths and health alerts, especially in the United States.

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco said the patient had hard-metal pneumoconiosis, typically found in people exposed to metals such as cobalt or tungsten used in tool sharpening or diamond polishing.

It causes a persistent cough and breathing difficulties, and leaves tell-tale scarring on lung tissue.

Kirk Jones, Clinical Professor of Pathology at UCSF, said “this patient did not have any known exposure to hard metal, so we identified the use of an e-cigarette as a possible cause”.

The case study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, said that when researchers tested the patient’s e-cigarette, which was used with cannabis, they found cobalt in the vapour it released, as well as other toxic metals — nickel, aluminium, manganese, lead and chromium.

This was similar to other studies, suggesting that the metals were coming from the heating coils found in vaping devices, rather than from any particular type of re-fill — as has been previously thought.

“Exposure to cobalt dust is extremely rare outside of a few specific industries,” Rupal Shah, assistant professor of medicine at UCSF, was quoted as saying.

“This is the first known case of a metal-induced toxicity in the lung that has followed from vaping and it has resulted in long-term, probably permanent, scarring of the patient’s lungs,” he said.

E-cigarettes ‘harmful’

An accompanying European Respiratory Society editorial on stopping smoking rejected the use of e-cigarettes as an aid, saying it was “based on well-meaning but incorrect or undocumented claims or assumptions”.

Editorial co-author Jorgen Vestbo, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester, said: “E-cigarettes are harmful, they cause nicotine addiction and can never substitute for evidence-based smoking cessation tools.”

Commentators on the findings voiced reservations about making the link based on just one case.

Professor John Britton, head of the UK Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies and a consultant in respiratory medicine at the University of Nottingham, said that while cobalt could cause the disease “it is hard to see how they reached this conclusion given that no cobalt particles were detected in the lung samples from the patient”.

“This case is thus yet another example of serious lung disease in someone using an electronic cigarette to vape cannabis,” he said, adding that the risk in cases of people vaping nicotine “as an alternative to smoking tobacco is very low”.

Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation warned that electronic smoking devices were “undoubtedly harmful and should therefore be subject to regulation”.

In June, San Francisco became the first major US city to effectively ban their sale and manufacture.

PARIS — Treating younger people with high cholesterol levels may help reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke in later life, a major study showed on Wednesday.

Described as the “most comprehensive” review of its kind covering almost 400,000 patients over more than 40 years, the study in The Lancet said its findings on the link between cholesterol levels and ill health “may be particularly important in people under 45 years”.

A summary said that starting with the same cholesterol level and additional cardiovascular risk factors — such as obesity or smoking — men under 45 years faced a 29 per cent risk of fatal or non-fatal heart disease or stroke by the age of 75.

For women, the risk level was 16 per cent.

However, if their non-HDL (i.e. “bad”) cholesterol levels were halved, typically by the use of statins, the men’s risk came down to 6 per cent and women fell to just 4 per cent.

Additionally, the study showed that “intervening early and intensively to reduce non-HDL cholesterol levels... could potentially reverse early signs of atherosclerosis” — the narrowing of the arteries caused by fat, calcium and cholesterol build-up.

HDL — High Density Lipoprotein — is often dubbed “good cholesterol”, helping clear fat from the bloodstream, in contrast with “bad” Low Density Lipoprotein.

Non-HDL cholesterol is arrived at by subtracting a person’s HDL level from their total cholesterol number, and accordingly measures all the bad lipoproteins.

Commenting on the study, Jennifer Robinson of the University of Iowa said its long-term nature and size was important in pointing to the potential for early treatment.

It raised the possibility that those people with high non-HDL and LDL levels could be more at risk than suggested by the 10-year threshold currently used to determine if treatment is needed, Robinson noted.

Paul Leeson, professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford said the issue of long-term medication would have to be addressed.

“Exactly how to reduce cholesterol effectively in young people and, in particular, whether you would need to take drugs for decades to do this is not explored [in the study] but will be important to consider before these findings can be included into medical guidance,” Leeson said in a commentary.