n average worker wastes almost one year of his or her working life puffing away on cigarettes, a new poll revealed. Three 15-minute smoking breaks a day cost employers 195 working hours a year for each worker. That is equivalent to 8,677 hours in an average 44-year working lifetime or simply put, nearly a whole year smoking instead of working.

Three cups of coffee a day could lessen the risk of ovarian cancer particularly for those women who do not take hormone supplements. This new revelations contradicts report issued Monday that coffee doubles the risk of miscarriage.

A gray seal was spotted Saturday morning, walking along the streets of eastern Maine, passing in front of several houses and a horse pasture, then wondered onto one of the highways. Suspected to have come from Whiting Bay, the seal reportedly got on Route 189 in Washington County. It then ran into trouble upon getting on the highway, with its body shape preventing it from proper mobility on the asphalt. Drivers who spotted the animal stopped.

Britain's Duchess of Cornwall has been blamed for "cursing" a luxury cruise liner. Cunard's Ł300 million MS Queen Victoria - which was officially launched by Camilla in Southampton three weeks ago when she failed to successfully smash the champagne bottle on its side - has been struck by a potentially fatal stomach bug.

A Florida city is now considering a ban on Chinese-made products in their jurisdiction in the wake of the wave of recalls of toys and even pet food. The Chinese-made products that the local government is considering banning include: computers, coffee makers, artificial Christmas trees, and toys.