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" There Are Still 40 Million Smokers in America In the last half century, the number of U.S. smokers has dropped more than half (from over 40% of adults to 18%), according to the Wall Street Journal. And now most just identify as social or sporadic smokers. But did you know they&amp;#039;re still 40 million strong? Other surprising trends: Menthols (the only flavored cigarettes) are more popular than ever, and there are now &amp;quot;organic&amp;quot; cigarettes (really?) on the market. The good news is that 70% of American smokers say they&amp;#039;d like to stop. Unfortunately, only one in 20 people who try to quit in any given year actually succeed. Woman Goes Blind After Not Changing Her Contact Lenses File this under: Ewww! Lian Kao, a 23-year-old Taiwanese student, made big \u2014 and horrifying \u2014 news this week when a microscopic parasite living on her contact lenses caused her to go blind. After not changing her contacts in more than six months, she developed a rare bacterial infection called keratitis, where an amoeba called Acanthamoeba infected her cornea and burrowed into her retina. The takeaway: Clean your contacts daily with fresh solution and replace them every three months. Also, avoid swimming with them in or wearing them for more than eight hours straight.  Pour Yourself a Pint of...Seaweed Beer? After sneaking its way into everything from chips to shampoos, kelp is now turning up in the beer aisle, reports NPR. The folks over at Marshall Wharf Brewing Co. in Belfast, Maine, are making the most of the abundance of fresh, wild seaweed in their area, and using it to create Sea Belt Scotch Ale. &amp;quot;If there&amp;#039;s seaweed in Maine and it&amp;#039;s a good product, why not try putting it in the beer?&amp;quot; David Carlson, the brewing company&amp;#039;s owner, told NPR. Now the real question: How does it taste? The company describes it as malty, earthy, and salty. Sounds like something we&amp;#039;d try. More Proof That Organic Is Still the Better Pick As if we weren&amp;#039;t already sold (check out our handy &amp;quot;Dirty Dozen&amp;quot; shopping guide), a major review published this week in the British Journal of Nutrition revealed that organic food contains substantially higher amounts of antioxidants and lower levels of pesticides, compared to conventionally grown produce. The research also reported that consumers who switch to organic produce consume between 20 to 40% more antioxidants in a day, which is equivalent to two extra servings of fruit and veggies. Still up for debate, however, is whether or not organic produce contains any more nutrients than its non-organic counterparts. Photos: Shui Ta Shan/Getty Images; Jay Field/MPBN via NPR "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a25637/news-071814/>