Smoking Increasingly Addictive
New research from the U.S. Surgeon General’s office finds that smoking is more harmful than we even thought, damaging cells from the very first puff. It also found that cigarettes are growing ever more efficient at delivering nicotine to its users—and thus are growing ever more addictive. Though smoking rates have decreased during the past several decades, 40 million teens and adults still light up, leading to 443,000 deaths a year, according to the Surgeon General’s 700-page report. More than 1,000 youth start smoking every day; once they start, it can be pretty hard for them to stop. One of the reasons, the report suggests, is that cigarette companies are making their cigarettes more potent. They add ammonia to tobacco to help get nicotine to the brain faster. They add filter holes to help folks inhale smoke deeper into their lungs, and they’ve added sugar and “moisture enhancers” to reduce that burning sensation most folks get when they smoke. “This is the first report that demonstrates that the industry has consciously redesigned tobacco products in ways that make them even more attractive to young people,” says Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. (USA Today)

‘No Anorexia’ Model Dies
French model Isabelle Caro, perhaps most famous for posing naked in the shocking “No Anorexia” billboard campaign, died recently at the age of 28. The cause of her death wasn’t released, but her acting coach Daniele Dubreuil-Prevot said Caro had been “sick for a long time,” referring to her long struggle with anorexia. Caro posed for the billboards in 2007, when she weighed about 59 pounds. In the photo, Caro looks frighteningly gaunt and emaciated, most of her bones protruding from her skin. The model has said in interviews that she’s suffered from anorexia since she was 13 and even published a book in 2008 about the disease called The Little Girl Who Didn’t Want to Get Fat. While Caro said she wanted to bring attention to the horrors of the condition, she attracted fame of a different kind. Pictures of the model regularly appear on pro-anorexia websites; and when she died, one posted a picture of Caro with a caption that read, “die young, stay pretty.” (Associated Press)

Hollywood’s Highest Earning Celebrities
1. Oprah Winfrey, $315 million
2. James Cameron, $210 million
3. Tyler Perry, $125 million
4. Michael Bay, $120 million
5. Tiger Woods, $105 million
6. Jerry Bruckheimer, $100 million
7. Steven Spielberg, $100 million
8. George Lucas, $95 million
9. Beyoncé, $87 million
10. Dr. Phil, $80 million

Simon Cowell was 11th and Jerry Seinfeld was 12th, while a trio of female pop stars—Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Madonna—claimed the 13th through 15th spots, respectively. Also of note for youth workers: Miley Cyrus landed in the 18th spot, with $48 million earned in 2010; Taylor Swift was 19th with $45 million.
Source: Forbes

Top 10 Web Searches
1. Facebook
2. Facebook login
3. YouTube
4. Craigslist
5. MySpace
6. Facebook.com
7. eBay
8. Yahoo
9. www.facebook.com
10. mapquest

Facebook dominated Internet searches in 2010, with searches relating to the social networking site claiming four of the top 10 slots. In other categories, Kim Kardashian was the most searched-for celebrity (followed by Oprah and Rush Limbaugh), Lady Gaga was the most popular musician and “Dancing with the Stars” was the top television show. Oddly enough, the most searched-for film was Star Wars—a film that’s more than 30 years old.
Source: Hitwise