Free Republic

Are you a secret smoker? By JOSEPH P. KAHN / THE BOSTON GLOBE, The Virginian-Pilot © August 8, 2005 THE PENULTIMATE episode of “Everybody Loves Raymond” outed one of the series’ recurrent characters – Pat MacDougall, played by actress Georgia Engel – as a secret cigarette smoker. Family members were stunned, if not amused, to discover Pat had been puffing away for years, concealing her habit with the aid of breath mints and air freshener. One viewer who found herself laughing on the outside while cringing on the inside was Mary, a Massachusetts bank employee. For Mary, Pat’s dirty little...

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...