For one thing, there is clear research showing that happy people tend to be more open to helping others. They also make better spouses and parents.” And in one famous study, nuns whose autobiographies expressed positive emotions (such as gratitude and optimism) lived seven to 10-and-a-half years longer than other nuns. So, for any die-hard pessimist who still needs persuading, just think of how much more you can help the world if you allow a little happiness into your life.

Even if I were one of the select few that don’t get Lung Cancer, that still means nothing to me, and it shouldn’t mean anything to other smokers out there either. Because a lot more things can happen to a smoker, than just Lung Cancer.

clipped from www.sciam.com Smoking is the most potent known cause of lung cancer. The question is: Why do some longtime smokers come down with the deadly disease whereas others escape it? New research points to a genetic culprit that also was fingered as upping a person’s likelihood of becoming hooked on cigarettes. Two new studies link a variation in a gene residing on chromosome 15 (of a person’s 23 pairs of chromosomes) to a heightened risk of developing lung cancer; a third study suggests that the same mutation� affects a person’s tendency to become addicted to smokes and, by extension, develop the dreaded disease. Lung cancer is diagnosed in some 200,000 Americans and kills more than 150,000 each year. The new research—published in both Nature and Nature Genetics—suggests that people with this genetic flaw have a 30 percent greater chance of developing the often-fatal illness. But the studies differ on the potential added risk of addiction.