Smoking in cars with children will be banned in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia starting in 2008, public health officials said Friday.

Beginning in January, smoking will no longer be allowed in vehicles with children under the age of 19

The state of Minnesota will ban the use of mercury in makeup and skin lightening creams starting 2008.

Minnesota is the first U.S. state to prohibit the deliberate inclusion of mercury in beauty cosmetics such as mascara, eye liners and beauty balms, according to The Associated Press

President George Bush vetoed a bill that proposes to expand health insurance for children on Wednesday. He struck down the bipartisan legislation because it allows adults into the program, covers families above the U.S. median and raises taxes.

It is his seventh use of his veto power in 7 years. Explaining his rejection of the bill, Bush said, "This bill does not put poor children first, and it moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction

Just a little over two months in force, Minnesota's state-wide smoking ban is producing some results. After the smoking prohibition took effect on October 2007, enrollment in telephone hotline counseling service went up by 43 percent, while sales of over-the-counter nicotine alternatives tripled.

According to the state's Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a month prior to the smoking ban implementation and on its first 31 days, 525 local residents called the hotline to seek counseling on how to deal with their nicotine addiction

A draft law written by China's Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procurator proposes stiffer penalties for fake drug manufacturers. Makers of drugs that cause deformities or grave bodily injury may face life imprisonment or even the death penalty, according to the draft.

Medical institutions that buy, store or prescribe fake or substandard drugs will face criminal cases, while funders or supporters of counterfeit medicine producers, distributors and retailers likewise will be charged criminally