|
|
Penalty per pay period that Wal-Mart's health insurance plans will require of employees who smoke in 2012. The cost will amount to $260 to $2,340 extra per year for those who want health coverage. According to the benefits consulting firm Mercer, several other large employers also charge higher premiums to workers who smoke; among the largest employers, about 28% adjust their premiums based on workers' tobacco use. [via The New York Times]
The same anesthetic that caused the overdose death of pop star Michael Jackson is now the drug of choice for executions in Missouri, causing a stir among critics who question how the state can guarantee a drug untested for lethal injection won’t cause pain and suffering for the condemned.
A new study finds that babies born by c-section are twice as likely to be obese by age 3 as those delivered vaginally.
Tuberculosis has been brought under control in much of the world, thanks to prevention practices and powerful antibiotics. But in poor nations like Peru, the disease still kills hundreds of babies and children — and new drug-resistant cases threaten an even bigger resurgence.
