Results tagged “warning”

Hey, whaddaya know—shooting 5,000 volts of electricity at somebody's chest could adversely affect the heart! Manufacturer Taser International Inc. has issued a warning about Taser chest-shots, suggesting that law enforcement officers aim their Tasers at perpetrators' backs, arms, or abdomens. In response to the warning, the NYPD brass has formally ordered officers not to shoot Tasers at suspects' chests.

On their way to outlawing smoking in public parks, beaches, and in your dreams, officials at the Health Department are moving forward with a plan to require graphic cigarette warning signs anywhere you buy smokes in NYC. The new signs will include information on how to quit, and, like the one seen here, will show the ugly side-effects of smoking. Some 12,000 retailers in all five boroughs are expected to display the signs by December, but the city will give them a two month grace period before issuing fines.

FYI, those planes may be for Federer-del Potro: "Today at 4pm, U.S. military planes may be performing a flyover in conjunction with the start of the finals for the US OPEN in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. You may see low flying aircraft in the area." And a tipster says, "The flyover will include approximately 4 - F15E Fighter Planes."

Three New Jersey residents are filing a class action lawsuit to force the makers of Nathan's, Oscar Mayer, Ball Park, Hebrew National and Sabrett franks to put warning labels on their hot dog packaging—not "WARNING: Hot dogs are revolting flesh tubes packed with lips and assholes," but "WARNING: Hot dogs increase the risk of cancer." A lawyer for the plaintiffs tells the Star-Ledger, "We view this just like the tobacco litigation. There is now a scientific consensus that processed meats are a significant cause of colorectal and other forms of cancer."

The city's health department just wants you to be healthy, which is why you can no longer innocently order a pina colada at Pizzeria Uno while pretending it doesn't contain multitudes of calories. The latest proposal to dispel New Yorkers' ignorant bliss involves requiring any retailers selling cigarettes to display graphic warning signs (like the sample here) about the dangers of smoking, plus information on where to seek help quitting. The proposed measure would require retailers to post the warnings wherever tobacco products are displayed, and also at the cash register or point of purchase. Officials hope it will help more New Yorkers quit; according to DOH stats, tobacco-related illness kills 7,400 people in the city each year. In fact, smoking kills more New Yorkers than AIDS, drugs, homicide and suicide combined! So today the Board of Health voted to solicit public comment on the proposed amendment (which you can read here), and a public hearing will be held on July 30th. What do you think? Too graphic or not graphic enough? (And last year the Health Department unveiled a line of graphic anti-smoking matchbooks.)

As any cyclist will tell you, one of the biggest dangers of riding a bike is getting "doored," when someone inside a car abruptly pops open a door to exit the vehicle. The potentially deadly situation is often caused by taxi riders who open a door without looking or who try to get out on the traffic side, as opposed to the sidewalk side. Now cyclist and graphic designer Marko Bon is urging the Taxi and Limousine Commission to add a logo like the one seen here to the TV screens in cabs. According to Streetsblog, the commission has shown interest in the design, and Transportation Alternatives has also been pushing for the use of video PSAs to remind cab passengers to open their doors carefully. Last year 66-year-old David Smith was killed on Sixth Avenue when an abruptly opened door knocked him off his bike into the path of a truck.

Williamsburg isn't the only Brooklyn nabe with a rash of violent assaults; Brownstoner reports that last Friday Pratt Institute students and faculty received a warning about an increase of violent activity near the Clinton Hill campus, as reported by the 88th Precinct.

Just in time for summer, the Times has brought the fear to the park, where an army of infectious organisms await anyone reckless enough to let the grass touch their bare feet. According to a number of very uptight dermatologists, taking off your shoes in the park is pretty much akin to soaking them in a bucket of bacteria.

Hold onto your chopsticks; the Times recently commissioned a toxicology report on sushi from 13 local establishments and got back some rather unappetizing results:

More than half of the restaurants and stores surveyed sold sushi with so much mercury that eating just six pieces a week would exceed the amount the EPA says can be safely consumed by an adult of average weight, which the agency defines as 154 pounds, 70 kilograms. People weighing less are advised to consume even less mercury.

Continue reading "Mercury Rising Higher in Tuna"