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Target's Canada Invasion Faces 1 Problem

2012-02-23T09:11:00Z

The buzz surrounding Target Corporation's move into Canada could quickly turn into a backlash if the U.S. retailing giant can’t deliver quality goods at prices similar to what it charges south of the border, experts say.

On Thursday, a year ahead of the official launch of its 135 stores across Canada, Target will open a temporary store on King Street West in Toronto to give consumers a taste of what to expect. During the several hours it's open, the pop-up store will feature clothing by Vancouver designer Jason Wu, with 100 per cent of sales going to United Way Toronto.

Even today's soft launch is likely to be greeted with fanfare, predicts Detlev Zwick, a professor of marketing at York University. Many Canadians know the brand from U.S. shopping trips, and many expat Americans long for it. Target also fills a gap in this country, Zwick says.

“It’s going to be greeted with a lot of enthusiasm, especially by middle-class consumers in urban areas, where there is a gap in the retail landscape between the high end, with Harry Rosen and Holt Renfrew, and the low end, with Zellers and Wal-Mart,” he said.

“The prices are excellent and the quality of the stuff you can buy in Target would cost 30 to 40 per cent more in other stores, if you can even find those brands.”

Other U.S. retailers forced to charge more

Zwick moved to Canada 10 years ago from the U.S., where the Minneapolis-based Target has 1,763 stores. The lack of Target stores in Canada has been a constant lament among fellow expats, he said.

However, Target will run up against the same challenge as other U.S. retailers that have made a foray north – significantly higher operating costs, which are typically passed on to consumers through higher prices.

Higher taxes and retail labour costs that are about 20 per cent more in Canada are among the factors that affect pricing here, along with a smaller population, higher transportation costs and economies of scale that allow U.S. retailers to reduce costs.

The price differential issue resurfaced last month after popular U.S. fashion retailer J.Crew opened its first Canadian store and first Canadian website, charging more here than in the U.S. and causing an uproar among consumers. Last November, Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney told a Senate committee that Canadians pay on average 11 to 20 per cent more than Americans for the same goods.

It’s not a question of whether Target will charge more in Canada but of how much more it will charge.

“Target will be an interesting case study for what they do in terms of their pricing strategy – how far they go before they piss off consumers,” Zwick said. “Consumers can quickly turn against them if they feel they’re being gouged. Canadian nationalist sentiment might be flared up with feelings of U.S. retailers coming to fleece us.”

Consumers can save on transportation

But Zwick suggests Target might still get away with charging prices about 10 per cent higher in Canada than in the U.S., as consumers factor in savings from not having to drive across the border to shop.

“If Target is willing to replicate the value proposition they offer in the U.S., it will be a very successful move for them and for consumers, who will flock to them.”

For retailers, Target’s move into Canada will ratchet up the pressure in an already competitive retail marketplace, said Kenric Tyghe, a consumer and retail analyst with Raymond James Capital in Toronto.

"It marks the beginning of the next wave of U.S. entrants to the mass Canadian retailing landscape. It's the single largest change to the retail environment since the entry of Wal-Mart."

Because the majority of Target's Canadian stores will be based in Ontario initially, its main competitors will be Wal-Mart, Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws and the Bay, Tyghe said.

Consumers stand to gain from potential price wars.

"Target can afford to compete on price to take market share because they are starting from zero, where the Canadian guys have to defend their market share."

CDC Examines Raw Milk's Role In Dairy-Related Food Poisoning

2012-02-22T22:44:00Z

Dairy-related illness is caused more often from raw, or unpasteurized, milk than pasteurized milk, according to a new government report.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that the risk of getting ill from consuming raw milk is 150 times higher than if you consume pasteurized milk, according to the study.

The report also showed that in states where selling raw milk is legal, outbreaks of food-borne illness are more than twice as high than in states where raw milk sales are illegal. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that 20 states currently have some form of ban on selling raw milk.

The findings were an aggregation of data collected on dairy-related outbreaks between 1993 and 2006. During that time period, there were 121 outbreaks, with 60 percent of them from raw milk products.

Not only were there more outbreaks related to raw milk, they were also more serious. The study showed that 13 percent of raw milk-related outbreaks resulted in hospitalization, while 1 percent of pasteurized milk-related outbreaks resulted in the same. The researchers said that the increase in hospitalization may be because bacteria like E. coli O157 were the cause of most raw milk-related outbreaks, which can result in more severe illness. Norovirus and Staphylococcus aureus were the more common causes of the pasteurized milk-product outbreaks, which are comparably mild infections, researchers said.

"While some people think that raw milk has more health benefits than pasteurized milk, this study shows that raw milk has great risks, especially for children, who experience more severe illnesses if they get sick," said study researcher Dr. Barbara Mahon, M.D., M.P.H., deputy chief of CDC's DFWED Enteric Diseases Epidemiology Branch.

Pasteurized milk is exposed to blasts of heat to kill pathogens, like E. coli and salmonella, that cause food poisoning, TIME reported. But raw milk supporters say that heating the milk also kills the good stuff in milk, such as good bacteria, and proteins and enzymes that help with digestion, according to TIME.

The nonprofit Weston A. Price Foundation, which advocates for raw milk, said that the findings should be taken with a grain of salt, saying that there are very low numbers of dairy-related foodborne illnesses to start with. [You can read their full statement here.]

The Los Angeles Times reported that raw milk supporters point to evidence in some journals showing that raw milk consumption is linked with a lower risk and/or rate of eczema and allergies. However, studies in journals have shown an exact opposite effect.

Fighting The 'Gimmies': Getting Kids Away From Materialism

2012-02-22T22:32:07Z

Marc and Craig Kielburger are the co-founders of Free The Children and Me to We, a social enterprise. They are authors of "The World Needs Your Kid: Raising Children Who Care And Contribute," with journalist Shelley Page.

"They're not so much children as what I like to call 'evolving consumers'."

You could be forgiven for thinking this was a classic line from Mr. Burns in The Simpsons. But it's actually attributed to well-known (real-life) marketing executive Elliott Ettenberg. And he's not alone -- fellow advertising guru Nancy Shalek famously told the Los Angeles Times, "Advertising at its best is making people feel that without their product, they're a loser. Kids are very sensitive to that. If you tell them to buy something, they are resistant. But if you tell them they'll be a dork if they don't, you've got their attention."

Maybe it's over-dramatic to say there's a war going on for the souls of our kids, but it's definitely a struggle. On one side: the 20,000 commercials that Canadian kids see each year (60 per cent of which promote sugared cereals, candy, fatty food and toys), armed with the latest research in child psychology. On the other: Mom and Dad, armed with "You're still cool to me, sweetheart."

Studies abound on the inverse relationship between materialism and happiness, including among kids. Professor Tim Kasser, author of The High Price of Materialism, asked 206 middle- and high-school students what they would do with $100, cross-analysing their answers with measures of their self-esteem, happiness, anxiety and high-risk behaviours.

He found that the kids who would save the money had higher self-esteem and didn't smoke. Those who would donate to charity were happier and less likely to smoke, use alcohol or get into trouble. And those who would spend more on themselves had lower self-esteem and greater anxiety. Professor Kasser validates the conventional wisdom linking self-esteem to materialism: "If a young person is driven by insecurity, they will shop. They are only doing the best they can to meet their needs."

We certainly weren't angels when it came to material pressure. Our mom loves telling the story about Marc hiding in the car in the parking lot of discount store Bi-Way, refusing to go inside or to wear anything she bought for him there. Mom took action a few weeks later during the holidays, bringing Marc along on a visit to the Chans -- a single-parent, recently arrived family whose daughter was Mom's student. Aware they were struggling in their new country, Mom did what she could to help.

On that Christmas gift run, Marc noticed that their small apartment in a run-down building was sparse but spotless. The kids had on their best clothes, and the cookies they served were clearly a luxury. After tea, Mrs. Chan handed Marc a small gift and said, in broken English, "You are our best friends. And best friends are so important to us. Thank you."

The words cut through Marc's cool veneer and showed him how fortunate our family was, and how Mom's small gestures of kindness and friendship could make a difference in the lives of an isolated family of newcomers.

Parents want their kids to be happy, and being accepted is a big part of happiness in childhood and adolescence. But when birthday party invitations stipulate that gifts must be worth at least $35, or include a private concert by Aerosmith, it's gotten out of control.

It's natural for kids to want certain things, but why not balance their needs with the needs of others? Here are some tips from Prof. Kasser and other parents we've met who have found that balance by tackling materialism head-on:

1. FIGHT THE GIMMIES
The Kassers limit their sons' screen time to 30 minutes a day and encourage alternatives that foster creativity and physical activity. Since it's nearly impossible to avoid all commercial advertising, it's also a good strategy to instill media literacy, like our friend and The World Needs Your Kid co-author Shelley Page, who taught her two daughters to "ad bust" from age four.
Whenever they saw an ad together (watching TV with your kids helps), Shelley and the girls deconstructed the message, "What are they selling me? Why are they selling it to me? What are they claiming it'll do for me? Is it true?" Now at ages nine and 12, the girls are informed consumers on whom ads have little effect. "They think ads for make-up, brand-name clothes, medicine, cars -- the list is long -- are ridiculous. We have great bonding time mocking commercials," says Shelley.

2. A BOOSTER SHOT OF SELF-ESTEEM
Vernon, BC-based child psychologist Dr. Kevin Murphy is author of The Jendorra Boxes -- a fantasy trilogy for adolescents that promotes positive social values through fiction. Over four decades working with children, teens and their parents, he's found that the key to building sustainable self-confidence in the early teen years is to "value not just final outcomes but also their effort and learning." Regular, constructive feedback on a child's progress toward an objective are more valuable than generalizations.
"Comments such as 'But I love you' may be true, but not necessarily all that useful," says Dr. Murphy, who also advocates encouraging kids to contribute to the household and community: "If a young person can do things of value for others then it becomes easier for them to value themselves and resist commercial efforts to exploit the uncertainty-based drop in self-confidence that is generally associated with the early teen years."

3. GIVE TIME, NOT STUFF
Many parents work harder and longer to provide a 'better' life for their families. The catch is that often the more parents work to provide, the less time they spend with their kids. In lieu of presence? Presents -- an exchange that teaches kids that stuff is more important than time spent with family. Instead, let the birthday girl or boy (parents included) choose the family activity and meal plan for the day, and volunteer together on holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hannukah. If you must give a gift, consider a coupon book with tokens for a movie night, a lift to a friend's house, or a week off from putting out the garbage.The Kassers make a point of collecting experiences instead of things, through family adventures such as Semester at Sea, a sailing school where Professor Kasser taught a psychology course and brought his family along to see the various countries they visited.

4. SPELL IT OUT: YOU'RE LUCKY
Like our mom did for Marc at the Chans, make sure your kids know that having more or better stuff isn't the most important thing in the world. From a very young age, start dinners with a round of thanks: to the sun, earth and farmers for growing the food, the grocery store clerks for stocking it, and the person who prepared it. Later, bring them to volunteer at a food bank or soup kitchen. Trace the journey of your kids' clothes and toys -- note the discrepancy between their lifestyle and that of the workers in China or elsewhere who made their stuff. Of his kids' experience with Semester at Sea, Professor Kasser said: "They have now seen poverty and know what real poverty is. They know how privileged they are. What they want isn't really what they need."

5. MODEL IT
Like any other habit, it's hard to expect your kid to avoid the trappings of materialism if you spend your Saturdays draped with a rainbow of boutique bags at the mall. If you want to take a preventive approach, try taking family challenges like a TV Turn-Off Week or a Buy Nothing Week. Take a chance at your local second-hand store -- there's a range of options from fashion-conscious consignment stores, to mid-range Value Village, to the 'Whatever You Can Fit in a Bag for a Buck' church basement thrift store. Our friend and co-author Shelley has adopted the '3-Way Allowance Split' -- spend, save and charity -- and has a spare change jar in the kitchen that, once filled, goes to whatever charity the family chooses.

DVF For GapKids: A Sneak Peek At The New Line (PHOTOS)

2012-02-22T21:10:35Z

We'll admit to being a little jealous of kids clothing these days. Um, hello, Stella McCartney for GapKids and all of the designers whipping up sartorial items for H&M? Yep, colour us green with envy.

And then came these sneak peek pics of the new -- and first -- Diane von Furstenberg collection for GapKids and babyGap. (The press kit, might we add, came with paper doll cut-outs we could dress up with DVF-styled stickers.)

Launching in the U.S. and Canada on March 15, and in the U.K. on March 28, the collection is basically a little girl's dream wardrobe (and, perhaps, some tweens and teens, too). It's full of the iconic prints that made Diane famous as well as her signature silhouette dresses and poppy colours. It's also full of summer 2012's wardrobe essentials: T-shirts, tanks, shorts, leggings and sunglasses. There's even a wrap dress.

On the line, Diane von Furstenberg says: "I am thrilled to collaborate with Gap on this playful collection for girls. It is timeless... colourful... effortless. That is very DVF!"

We couldn't agree more!

New Breast Cancer Gene Discovered

2012-02-22T20:59:00Z

Scientists have identified a new gene that may increase the risk of breast cancer, according to a new study from Finland. In the study, mutations in this gene, called Abraxas,were linked to cases of hereditary breast cancer.

Should It Be Harder To Get A Divorce?

2012-02-22T20:30:20Z

TORONTO – When the going gets tough, married couples too easily turn to divorce as a way out, a socially conservative Canadian think tank said Wednesday.

Divorce proceedings in Canada are not complicated enough, the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada suggests in its report "Finding fault with no-fault divorce."

Under current laws, one person can decide to get divorced for “no reason at all” two weeks into their marriage or simply initiate proceedings by moving out, the report's author Andrea Mrozek said.

“Canadian law actually values marriage as a short-term prospect through no-fault divorce,” she argued.

According to the federal Divorce Act, spouses simply need to prove a breakdown in their marriage, either by showing they are living separately or that someone has committed adultery or is mentally or physical abusing the other.

Mrozek’s report suggests that no-fault divorces have contributed to higher rates of divorce, increased poverty and the early initiation of children into adulthood — but it stops short of calling for a revamp of Canada’s divorce law.

“It wasn’t meant to be a hugely political piece. I think it is something that we would consider, (but) asking that type of thing would have to be well thought out,” she said. “We would want to enlist the help of lawyers to ensure that it was thought out properly.”

Rather, Mrozek said, what she wants to stress is that no-fault divorce hasn’t achieved its intended purpose: to decrease the acrimony that arises from the process, limit the involvement of children in court proceedings and allow individuals to get on more quickly with their lives.

The Institute of Marriage and Family suggests there are non-legal solutions, such as a notification document, that couples who feel their problems are insurmountable could use before officially pulling the plug.

“When you enter into the legal realm, you have enlisted a lawyer already. To many people, I suppose, it can feel like a road you can never exit from, but when you have serious enough problems you need to convey them somehow so this (notification document) could be a precursor to that,” Mrozek said.

The notification document would be sent from one partner to the other warning them that without resolution — and reconciliation — they’ll seek a divorce.

“It’s a proposal to reduce unnecessary divorce,” she said.

Data collected by Statistics Canada show the divorce rate spiking in the 1980s but holding relatively steady in the earlier part of this decade. The latest available data published in 2004 suggests that 41.3 per cent of marriages are expected to end in divorce before their 50th anniversary. Statistic Canada spokeswoman Marie Lavallée-Farah said the government no longer collects divorce statistics.

7 Things Your Mouth Can Say About Your Health

2012-02-22T20:12:58Z

By Chris Iliades, MD Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III MD, MPH

"You’ve got a cavity."

Ouch -- no one likes to get bad news in the dentist’s chair. But good dental health is a reflection of good health overall -- and how well you take care of your teeth may reflect how well you take care of the rest of your body. That’s why your dentist can tell you a lot more about your health than simply the state of your mouth. A routine dental exam may reveal problems with your bones, heart, or digestion because certain warning signs live inside your mouth.

And not only can routine dental check-ups reveal certain health problems, they may also prevent them. In fact, a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association found that people who received regular teeth cleanings and scrapings had a 24 percent lower risk of heart attack and 13 percent lower risk of stroke compared to people who didn’t get such dental care.

So the next time you visit your dentist, she could clue you in to one of these seven health conditions. How’s that for lip service?

Heart Problems
Did you know that adopting mouth-healthy habits may ultimately keep your heart healthy, too? Research has found a surprising number of links between the state of your dental health and your heart.

"Inflamed gums and loose teeth can be warnings of heart disease," says Alyson Hope Koslow, DDS, a clinical assistant professor of restorative dentistry at the University of Illinois Chicago. That’s because if you have a gum disease like periodontitis, the bacteria in your gums could travel to your heart and contribute to coronary artery disease. Bacteria may also increase your risk for heart disease by contributing to the formation of clots or further plaque build-up in your arteries that can interfere with blood flow to the heart. One Swedish study found that people with more pockets of infection of the gum around the base of the tooth had a 53 percent increased risk of heart attack compared to those with the fewest pockets.

And as the recent AHA study found, regular dental cleanings will safeguard your smile and protect your ticker.

Diabetes
The most common dental health condition for diabetics? Gum disease.

"Gum disease, bleeding gums, and loose teeth are all warning signs of diabetes," Dr. Koslow says. "Diabetics also tend to have a slower healing time."

Infections at your gum line can worsen the state of your diabetes and can contribute to the risk for heart disease and stroke, so it’s important to take steps to keep your mouth healthy (and your diabetes under control).

Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is characterized by the weakening of bones, and it's most common in post-menopausal women. But could your dentist be clued in to your thinning bones before you are?

"Osteoporosis does not cause changes in the teeth, but it doescause changes in the bone that supports the teeth," Koslow explains. "This may show up as a receding gum line and loose teeth."

If your dentist sees any oral signs of osteoporosis, let your medical doctor know right away.

Dementia
This gradual loss of cognitive function is often signaled by confusion, loss of memory, disorganization — and an unhealthy mouth. "People with early dementia may show all the signs of poor oral hygiene," warns Koslow.

If you notice that a loved one is neglecting her oral health, skipping dental appointments, and having problems managing daily routines, talk to her doctor.

Eating Disorders
By nature, people with anorexia or bulimia usually try to hide their condition — but a dentist may be the first one to spot it.

That’s because eating disorders can cause poor nutrition, which can lead to oral conditions like bleeding gums and dry mouth. In addition, "erosion on the insides of the front teeth may be a sign of forced vomiting in a young person with bulimia — stomach acid wears away at enamel and also makes teeth more sensitive," says Koslow.

Nighttime Reflux
"Erosion of enamel from the insides of teeth, especially the upper back molars, is a clue to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)," Koslow says. Reflux of stomach juices can happen at night — but you may not be aware of it until your dentist sees its effects on your dental health.

Reflux disease can cause erosion of the esophagus and may even lead to esophageal cancer, so let your doctor know if your dentist sees possible signs of reflux. Treatment can include elevating the head of your bed, not eating in the hours before bed, and taking acid blocking medications.

Dry Mouth
What’s the big deal about dry mouth? "Saliva helps to wash away bacteria and debris that lead to cavities and gum disease," Koslow says.

And if you’re producing too little saliva, your dentist will know. Dry mouth may be caused by medications or it may be a sign of a disease such as diabetes or Parkinson's disease. The solution? Up your fluid intake, and your dentist may even suggest a saliva substitute.

Do You Follow The Crowd? What Your Brain Has To Do With It

2012-02-22T19:06:00Z

How likely are you to go along with the crowd? It may have to do with the physiology of your brain, a new study suggests.

Research published in the journal Current Biology shows that grey matter in a specific brain region could predict a person's likelihood of giving in to social pressures.

Researchers from New York University, Aarhus University and the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University of College London first conducted a brain measurement on 28 people called voxel based morphometry. This type of measurement notes the volume of grey matter in specific brain regions by analyzing 3-D images from MRI brain scans.

Researchers also tested how likely the same 28 study participants were to give in to social pressures. They had the participants rate songs by how much they liked them, and then had those songs rated by music critics. Then, the study participants re-rated their picks after learning of the professional critics' scores. Researchers found that people who changed how they rated the songs after learning of the professional critiques -- those who were more easily influenced when faced with disagreement -- also had a higher volume of gray matter in a brain region called the lateral orbitofrontal cortex.

"Our results show that social conformation is, at least in part, hard-wired in the structure of the brain," study researcher Chris Frith said in a statement.

While feeling pressured to conform certainly can be a bad thing, a recent study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that the sensation of being watched by our peers could actually push us to be more competitive or be a bigger risk-taker than if we were by ourselves, YouBeauty reported.

Servers' Views On Restaurant Customers: Getting The Best Service Possible

2012-02-22T16:33:17Z

What looks like a convivial scene is a waiter's nightmare: people at a table, chatting away, menus closed with drinks in their hands.
Yet when Alex Martin, a 26-year-old waiter at Blue Smoke restaurant in New York, tried to take their order "they didn't even look up," he says. "If you are standing there for more than three seconds it's like an eternity."
At such times, Mr. Martin employs his go-to strategy of "the hand on the table." Placing down his palm draws the group's eyes up and out of the conversation, interrupting but without being pushy, he says. A few minutes later the men had ordered and quickly returned to chatting.

Myanmar Desperate For HIV And TB Drugs, Doctors Say

2012-02-22T16:17:00Z

BANGKOK -- Some 85,000 HIV-infected people in Myanmar are not getting treatment due to a lack of funding, despite renewed international engagement with the government amid a wave of political reform, a medical aid group said Wednesday.

Doctors Without Borders warned in its report that the situation in Myanmar could worsen after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria cut funding worldwide because of a shortfall in donations.

The money was expected to provide HIV drugs for 46,500 people in Myanmar and help treat another 10,000 sickened by drug-resistant tuberculosis, the report said.

Cases of tuberculosis – a major killer of HIV patients – in Myanmar are nearly triple the global rate, as difficult-to-treat forms of the disease that do not respond to common treatment surge.

In 2009, the U.N. estimated 240,000 people were infected with HIV and about 18,000 were dying from it annually in Myanmar, which has one of the world's worst health systems.

Doctors Without Borders provides antiretroviral drugs to about 23,000 people at 23 clinics nationwide, funding more than half of all HIV treatment being provided to nearly 40,000 patients, said Peter Paul de Groote, who heads the organization's Myanmar operation.

Myanmar receives a fraction of the international aid provided elsewhere, largely because many nations did not support the former reclusive military government that ruled for nearly half a century. But last year, a nominally civilian government took office and launched unexpected reforms that have been applauded by the international community.

"Regardless of what is happening in the country, the people that are in need of treatment, need treatment," de Groote said by phone. "Of course, we all hope that the developments as they seem to be going in that direction will lead to more money into the country, but, in general, I think this money should be coming in regardless of what the situation is."

Mercury Found In Lightening Cream

2012-02-22T15:50:00Z

SAN FRANCISCO -- California health officials became alarmed when a 39-year-old Mexican-American woman in Alameda County was diagnosed with mercury poisoning, giving her headaches, numbness, depression and forgetfulness.

Scouring her home for the likely culprit, they determined that an illegal skin-lightening cream smuggled in from Mexico was to blame.

Health investigators are currently going undercover in some San Francisco Bay Area ethnic communities to root out the foreign-made products whose pigment-busting ingredient can have damaging side effects.

The unlabeled jars of mercury-laced cream are typically used to lighten skin, fade freckles and age spots, as well as treat acne.

The investigators are working with health and beauty workers in the immigrant communities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose to hunt for the skin creams in shops and at swap meets, while encouraging families to dispose of the products safely.

The California Department of Public Health sent out a medical alert to health care professionals earlier this month, calling on them to notify the state of potential mercury poisoning cases and to ask their patients to stop using their creams.

California health officials worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to write a report in January that indicated at least 22 people in five households in California and Virginia had shared skin-lightening creams made in Mexico. Twelve people in California and 10 in Virginia had mercury in their bloodstream; the highest levels were among women who typically used the cream at least twice a day.

Officials would not release the names of the people in the study that began in 2010, saying they wanted to protect their privacy. After the study began, samples of the cream tested in Virginia showed that it contained 5 to 6 percent mercury, according to state health officials there.

The Minnesota Department of Health warned residents last year that skin lightening products being sold in African, Asian, Latino and Middle Eastern communities in the Twin Cities contained dangerous levels of mercury. The Environmental Protection Agency has warned about the presence of the heavy metal in creams sold in the Chicago area.

California health officials believe there likely are many more people who are using the cream and are unaware of its dangers. The products often enter this country hidden in luggage, or are smuggled across the border. Then the creams are sold under the counter at shops and pharmacies that cater to ethnic communities whose cultural norms lean toward lighter skin as a marker of beauty.

"That is the largest incidence that we're aware of here in California," said Dr. Rupali Das, chief of the exposure assessment section at the California Department of Public Health, of the Alameda County cases.

Mercury poisoning can harm the body's nervous system and kidneys, and even affect personality, health officials say.

The CDC report found that six of those in the study had symptoms consistent with chronic exposure to mercury, including numbness, tingling, dizziness, forgetfulness, headaches and depression. All reported getting their creams either directly from Mexico or from relatives in Virginia who had purchased the creams in Mexico.

Twelve of those with mercury levels found in their urine had not used the creams, but likely were exposed to it by hands that still carried traces of the heavy metal. The youngest among those was an 8-month-old baby.

"It is most harmful on the nervous system and the kidneys and then can also cause changes in personality and a variety of other problems," said Das, a co-author of the CDC report. "We're concerned about the harmful effects that mercury can have on children. It can delay their development and they might not catch up – ever."

The mercury blocks melanin, which gives skin and hair its pigmentation.

But even mild to moderate toxicity due to inorganic mercury can include irritability, difficulty with concentration and memory loss. Insomnia and weight loss can also be side effects and so can tingling in hands, feet or around the lips.

Some of the creams collected and analyzed by California medical officials contained mercury levels 20,000 to 56,000 parts per million. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows only trace levels of mercury in creams, or less than 1 part per million.

Latinas, Asians and Filipinas were the predominant users of the creams in California, Das said. For some members of those cultures, traditionally darker skinned people were the laborers who worked outside in the sun, she said, while lighter skin was often considered a symbol of higher social status and wealth.

The family in Alameda used unlabeled face cream in a white plastic jar that was produced in Jalisco or Michoacan, Mexico. They got the cream from a relative in Virginia who has been purchasing the jars from an individual in Mexico.

The highest mercury levels were in the woman and her 4-year-old child. The woman had 100 times the safe level.

The California Department of Public Health advisory said the woman experienced mild to moderate symptoms of tingling in her hands and lips, dizziness, forgetfulness, headaches, depression and irritability and anxiety.

Her 4-year-old child, whose mercury levels were 25 times higher than normal, appeared to have no serious symptoms. Investigators determined the woman used the cream twice a day and her husband once a day for about three years to fade freckles and age spots.

The CDC says inorganic mercury can be ingested, inhaled or absorbed through the skin; then excreted in urine, sweat and breast milk. The half-life of inorganic mercury is one to two months, so mercury levels can increase with repeated application of the creams.

5 Things You Should Know About #RollUpTheRim To Win

2012-02-22T15:39:56Z

Tim Hortons’ Roll Up The Rim To Win contest is back for its 26th year, and the company behind Canada’s most successful fast food chain is promising $60 million in prizes for 2012.

Since it began in 1986, Roll Up The Rim has become an icon of Canadian consumerism and one of the most closely followed promotions in the country’s history, with 88 per cent of prizes typically redeemed.

This year’s contest features “one of the biggest prize pools ever,” the company boasts, and among the prizes are 40 Toyota Camry Hybrids, 100 Panasonic 3D TVs, 25,000 $100 Tim cards and 47 million food prizes, among others.

But the contest wasn’t always so generous. When it began in 1986, as what the company calls a “thank-you” to Tim Hortons customers, the largest prize was a snack pack of Timbits.

Here are some other facts about Roll Up The Rim -- plus check out our gallery of what Twitterers are saying about #RollUpTheRim.

Medical Schools To Be Trained In Treating Female Genital Cutting

2012-02-22T15:05:48Z

TORONTO - The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada says information about treating patients who have had female genital cutting or mutilation should be integrated into the curriculum of medical schools.

The recommendation is part of a policy statement on the subject published in the February edition of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada.

"I think there's a greater understanding that we need to be culturally competent when we're offering treatment for women. We see a lot more immigrant women from Africa ... and many of them have had this cutting procedure done when they were children," said Dr. Margaret Burnett, chair of the social and sexual issues committee.

"So what that means for us as physicians in Canada is we're kind of confronted with this kind of anatomical difference, and we need to know how to treat them," she said Tuesday in an interview from Winnipeg.

Medical students, for the most part, don't know what to do when offering care for these women, Burnett indicated.

The policy statement said an estimated 100 million to 140 million girls and women worldwide live with female genital cutting/mutilation.

The society first issued an official policy document against the practice in 1992, and this statement is an update.

It reminds members that female genital cutting/mutilation, or FGC/M, is a criminal offence in Canada, and reporting it to child welfare protection services is mandatory when it's suspected it has been done to a child, or that a child is thought to be at risk.

Burnett said that she and her colleagues haven't had a lot of requests to perform such illegal surgeries, but there are times when it's an issue in treating a woman who had it done as a child.

"One of the biggest things that we see is that sometimes the labour is obstructed because the opening isn't big enough for the baby's head to come through," she explained.

"So we have to know what episiotomy to make, how to repair that, in order that these ladies can have normal deliveries.

"And one of the things that we want to emphasize to our members is, for example, that it's not necessary to do a caesarean section when someone has had a cutting procedure done."

Through it all, she said, obstetricians and gynecologists must be sensitive to cultural differences.

"We need to be aware that although this is very different from what we see — it's not our custom in Canada — that we need to still treat these women with respect and be very sensitive that they're self-conscious and may not actually seek health care in Canada because they're perhaps self-conscious about the way their genitals look."

The statement encourages physicians to counsel families against having genital cutting or mutilation performed on family members, and to advocate for culturally competent support and counselling.

"Education is very important. We need to emphasize that there's no medical reason for this to be done," Burnett said.

Watch Those Cards: The 'Riskiest' Online Cities In Canada

2012-02-22T11:56:36Z

The cyber world isn't looking too friendly for one Ontario city.

For the second year in a row, the city of Burlington, Ont., has been named the "riskiest" online city due to high rates of cybercrime, according to a study by security software company Norton.

The study ranked cities based on access to Wi-Fi hotspots, consumer spending on computers, the use of the Internet and smartphones, and behaviour on social networking sites.

Burlington was followed by three British Columbia cities, including Port Coquitlam in second place, Vancouver in third and Langley in fourth.

Last year, Burlington's mayor didn't take the news so well. Mayor Cam Jackson said he agreed with his city's growth, but questioned Norton's research.

"What I don't understand is how they came up with the numbers on cybercrime," he told ITBusiness.ca. "We need to be told what the purpose of this study is, whether it's for commercial or academic use," he added.

Norton noted in their press release that the study's intention was to "highlight the various potential risk factors that exist in our modern, constantly connected world ... Awareness is the first step to remaining secure."

Cyber crime rates cost Canadians $5.5 billion in 2010, according to a study released by Symantec. At least 7.3 million Canadians were victims of cybercrime last year, and there are about 20,000 new victims each day.

Where does your city stand: Are you a victim of cybercrime and excessive use of Facebook or did your city rank low? Here are the top 20:

Could A Drug Improve Your Memory?

2012-02-22T11:15:33Z

Drugs could be used to boost memory by improving the connections between nerve cells in the brain, scientists have found. The researchers hope this could help with further understanding of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s.

The human brain contains trillions of neuronal connections called synapses, which control our cognitive functions, the study paper explains. These connections are constantly changing in their strength and properties, a process known as synaptic plasticity.

Alterations in these changes are thought to be responsible for multiple cognitive deficits, such as autism, Alzheimer's disease, and several forms of mental retardation.

The study found that this plasticity can be improved using a small protein fragment or peptide.

When this peptide was administered to rats, their ability to learn and retain spatial information was enhanced.

The study is the result of collaboration between researchers at The Centro de Biologia Molecular Severo Ochoa at the Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED) in Spain, the Brain Mind Institute at the Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland and the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Denmark.

Lead researcher Dr Esteban said: "We have known for three decades that synaptic connections are not fixed from birth, but they respond to neuronal activity modifying their strength.

"Thus, outside stimuli will lead to the potentiation of some synapses and the weakening of others."

He added: "These are basic studies on the molecular and cellular processes that control our cognitive function.

"Nevertheless, they shed light into potential therapeutic avenues for mental disorders where these mechanisms go awry."

The study, published in the journal PLoS Biology, suggests that cognitive function can be improved pharmalogically in adult animals by enhancing the plasticity of synaptic connections in the brain.

Professor Geraint Rees, director at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said, as reported by the Press Association: "This is exciting because it links the ability to modify particular types of synapse - the connection between nerve cells - to improved navigational ability.

"But it is important to remember that there are many differences between rats and humans, and so whether this has promise as a way of enhancing human cognitive abilities remains uncertain."

Dr Simon Ridley, Head of Research at leading Alzheimer's charity, Alzheimer’s Research UK, said in a statement:

“Communication between nerve cells is vital, but gets lost in Alzheimer’s leading to symptoms such as memory loss and confusion. This study outlines details of a molecular mechanism in nerve cells which can enhance learning and memory and may hold potential for understanding diseases such as Alzheimer’s where these essential connections are lost.

“It’s a big challenge, but there is hope that by understanding the processes that control cognitive function, scientists could develop therapies to improve or maintain cognition in diseases like Alzheimer’s. This study used normal healthy tissue and so further work would be needed to look at the potential of the FGL protein in Alzheimer’s. With research into dementia so underfunded, and the number of people living with the condition increasing, it is vital that we increase funding for research into these devastating diseases.”