Monthly Archives: May 2023

Vape wasteland: Looking beyond public health – Resource.co

Posted: May 28, 2023 at 11:54 am

According to Material Focus, two vapes are disposed of in the UK every second. The number of people vaping worldwide is predicted to have reached a record high having risen from seven million in 2011 to 55 million in 2021.

While the Government is actively using vapes even giving out vaping kits as part of their target to make the UK smoke-free by 2030, vapes are proving to be even more damaging to the environment, due to fires from embedded lithium batteries as well as the leaching of corrosive electrolytes and heavy metals. Indeed, research published by Material Focus in December 2022 identified that over 700 fires in UK waste trucks and on waste sites were caused by batteries that hadnt been disposed of correctly.

There are currently calls for bans on single-use vapes and for vapes to be made into a separate waste category, with their own solution within the WEEE Regulations.

Arguably the main problem with vapes is that there is no established system for their collection and disposal. Millions of single-use disposable vapes containing valuable resources like lithium end up in landfills across the world. Its estimated that approximately 1,200 electric vehicle batteries could be made from the lithium lost in discarded vapes and e-cigarettes in one year.

Scott Butler, executive director of Material Focus, told a joint investigation by the Bureau of Investigate Journalism, Sky News and the Daily Telegraph in July last year that vapes that go to landfill are responsible for dumping plastics, poisons, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, mercury, and flammable lithium-ion batteries into the environment.

He continued: The challenge is that people dont really think about what a vape is made of, but what it does for them.

Other impacts include littering, the aerosol transmission or leaking of toxic substances from e-liquids, the leaching of heavy metals and the leaking of corrosive electrolytes from batteries.

Due to the public and environmental health risks, local authorities and governments around the world are considering legislation options for controlling the sale and disposal of vapes.

Glasgow Councils Environment and Liveable Neighbourhoods Committee called for the Scottish government to introduce legislation to ban the sale of single-use vapes earlier this year. Australia also announced a ban on the sale of all non-prescription vapes earlier this year.

In the UK, a Disposable Electronic Cigarettes (Prohibition of Sale) cross party bill was put forward by Conservative MP Caroline Johnson in February, but is not scheduled for a second hearing until 24 November. The UK parliament website says, however, that the House is currently not expected to sit on this day and the bill is therefore not expected to be taken.

In this years budget, UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt also rejected proposals to tax disposable vapes to discourage underage vaping; the Government is instead considering a ban on candy-flavored vaping liquids alongside a clampdown on marketing that could appeal to the young, with a consultation into youth vaping launched in April this year.

The Governments reticence to introduce legislation around vaping has been put down to the opportunity that vapes present in moving the population away from traditional cigarettes. Mark Oates, director of the campaign group We Vape, told eCigIntelligence that while he didnt think the industry was doing enough to address environmental issues, it would be a great shame if [the government] removed this opportunity to take people away from cigarettes.

The solution, commentators suggest, is to focus on recycling schemes and the introduction of policy around recycling and waste collection. In the case of no blanket ban, stakeholders are calling for extended producer responsibility (EPR) for vape and e-cigarette producers, with some producers having already proactively created or signed up for recycling schemes.

There are examples of several recycling and collection schemes for vapes currently set up around the world. Private waste disposal companies GAIACA and TerraCycle offer services which dismantle, clean, and convert vaping devices into raw materials for use in new products in both New Zealand and Canada. In the US the vape industry has launched recycling schemes such as DotMod, Shanlaan, Dovpo and Vinn.

In the UK, vaping company FEELM has launched a UK-wide recycling scheme in partnership with Royal Mail and waste management firm Waste Experts. From the end of this month, Customers in London, Birmingham and Manchester will be able to return their used single-use vapes to a participating retailer or through the post. The waste items will then be recycled while the remaining e-liquid will be safely disposed of. To incentivise uptake, for every ten devices deposited FEELM will provide customers with a free vape.

Vape retailer Totally Wicked has also signed up for a national vape collection service launched by Veolia last month and VPZ stores have announced its own recycling partnership with WasteCare.

While recycling schemes are a step in the right direction, a huge hurdle still to overcome is customer messaging. Many people lack an understanding of the effect of vapes on the environment.

Despite being better for human health than traditional cigarettes, iIn the absence of proper management and legislation, single-use vapes and e-cigarettes are more hazardous than single-use plastics because of the chemicals they contain, yet many vape users are unaware of the dangers.

As Material Focus Scott Butler made clear, vapes and e-cigarettes tend to be looked at in terms of public health. The industry has, however, been slow to launch campaigns which look to expand consumer awareness of the environmental issues associated with vapes and e-cigarettes.

Gateshead Council in Tyne and Wear has been ahead of the curve, launching a campaign to teach residents about the correct disposal of vapes and dangers posed by incorrectly disposal in household waste or recycling bins.

Councillor Linda Green, Chair of the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership, told Circular Online in February: I really dislike the term disposable, as they are anything but.

All vapes contain a battery, and if you throw them in your bin and they are collected by our crews, these batteries can be damaged during processing and spark, setting fire to any combustible materials around them.

The question for the industry is whether a blanket ban can be avoided by sufficiently curtailing the environmental damage of vapes through consumer communications and proper recycling while still reaching the Governments target of a smoke-free UK.

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Vape wasteland: Looking beyond public health - Resource.co

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Storz & Bickel Mighty+ Review: Is This Top-Tier Vape Worth Price? – Gear Patrol

Posted: at 11:53 am

Across the 2010s, largely thanks to the tobacco industry, vaping kind of got a bad rap. However, when it comes to cannabis, vaping has quickly become one of the industry go-tos for many folks' means of consuming THC. A lot of that is owed to the work of longtime brand Storz & Bickel and its suite of high-end, medical-grade vaporizers.

Designed to be smoother and generally better for your body than traditional smoking methods, the brand's vapes represent some of the top options in the weed industry and they're lauded by fans around the world. So what's the catch? Well, they're pretty expensive, for one. And that's enough to scare off plenty of people.

However, I got my hands on one of the brand's most popular, top-end offerings, the Mighty+, to see if it actually lives up to the admittedly significant hype. Over the course of several weeks, I turned to this device as my daily vape with the hope of determining once and for all if the Mighty+ is worth its similarly mighty price.

After getting hands-on with the Storz & Bickel Mighty+ for a few weeks, I finally understand the online forum hype that surrounds this particular device. Setup was a breeze (thanks to clear, simple instructions sadly somewhat uncommon among other vapes), the device worked brilliantly right out of the box (it was even charged up), and the whole process from first turning it on to finally refilling it (and back again) was as easy as it was enjoyable. From a user experience perspective, the simplicity of this device might just be its primary strength, followed shortly by its consistency and precision. It also hits smoothly and deceptively hard.

The device is certainly large probably best for at-home use and not so much for taking on the go and it looks more like a piece of industrial sci-fi equipment or maybe even a walkie-talkie, but that also lends to its discretion and, frankly, I like that it isnt easy to misplace. I was also initially skeptical of the price given that the exterior is made from plastic, but after using it (and learning that its a special heat-resistant plastic around a ceramic-coated heating chamber that gives off virtually no heat, even at the highest settings), I think these materials were the right choice to keep the device at a manageable weight. All told the Mighty+ was a true joy to use, even among the other top-rated vapes Ive had the pleasure of trying.

Admittedly, I was a little intimidated by the thought of using the Mighty+ for the first time. I had seen the device in action, but never actually put my hands on one despite a longstanding desire to try it out. However, getting it all ready to go was a simple matter the first time (and every time after that), thanks to clear instructions included with the device. Furthermore, the steps are brief and pretty intuitive: open the chamber, fill it with flower, secure it and hit the power button; wait a few moments for it to heat up and youre ready to go. Of all the vapes Ive tried, save maybe for disposable pens (which are often as wasteful as they are unreliable), this might actually be the easiest one to use. And that curve sticks with every use from there on, never increasing in difficulty or tediousness.

The kit also came with a USB-C power cable for simple, straightforward charging, as well as replacement filters, o-rings and even a little brush to clean out the chamber when it's time to repack it. These are all minor additions that make a pretty big difference in the overall user experience. Furthermore, replacing any of the aforementioned things is also a simple matter, aided by further instructions included with the vape. Why more brands dont include clear, concise instruction sheets, I do not know but Storz & Bickel makes it clear why this is such a vital part of customer service (theres even a support page on the brands site in case you need further help or misplace your instructions).

Every step of using this vape, from first unpacking it to cleaning it out the 100th time, is a simple matter. And that makes a tremendous difference in the overall experience. I am not exaggerating when I say this might be the easiest vape to use, especially on the higher end of the pricing and quality spectrum.

Sean Tirman

While it definitely falls somewhat in line with the above section (specifically in regard to user-friendliness), it needs to be said that one of the bigger joys of using the Mighty+ is the consistency and precision of the heating element. With just a simple push of the power button, the device will warm to the same exact temperature as it did the time before and the time before that. You dont have to fiddle with it if you dont want to and youll never be unsure as to whether it is fully heated or not (the display shows the temperature youre heating to, as well as the current temperature and vibrates when they match, for good measure).

This is important not only for simplicitys sake but to ensure that youre getting the same pull of your cannabis every single time. In fact, the only real way youre going to mess that up is through user error like fiddling with the temperature or neglecting to swap out your old, burnt-up flower. As the Mighty is certified for medical use, this all makes sense and, honestly, I wish it was more common among other vapes.

The very first thing youre going to notice about the Mighty+ is how big it is. Were talking BIG roughly the size of a glasses case or a modern walkie-talkie and definitely larger than my iPhone (maybe more like 2-3 iPhones stacked together). Yes, it is still small enough to qualify as portable to most, but youre really going to need a bag of some kind like a backpack or sling bag if you want to take it with you anywhere. Truthfully, I just dont see this thing making it into my pockets at any point.

Sean Tirman

The good news is, at least for users like myself, that it doesnt have to be super portable to be worth it. Its industrial-meets-sci-fi appearance lends itself well to discretion, which is ideal for home use and, while larger than other vapes, its size makes it easy to move it from room to room on an as-needed basis and youre probably not going to lose track of it, as you might with pocketable pen vapes. Combine that with the tech and overall experience and it more than makes up for its lack of outside-the-home portability. Still, if you were looking for something to stash while you head out into the world, this one might not be the best option for you.

It needs to be said that the Mighty+ (the device I used for this review) is actually a newer, updated version of the original Mighty. While these devices are almost identical in appearance (size, shape, etc.), the Mighty+ benefits from some fairly significant quality-of-life improvements, including a quicker charge time (up to 80 percent in just 40 minutes, as opposed to 2-3 hours for the standard edition), USB-C charging (the standard uses DC), quicker heating (60 seconds, as opposed to 70-80) and a few other smaller details.

Having used the Mighty+, Id definitely recommend the upgrade, even considering the price difference ($399 compared to the standards $349). Its not that the standard version is bad by any measure, its just that these slight differences do really go a long way toward the overall experience. Go big or go home, as they say.

If you like the Storz & Bickel tech and style, but youre just not sold on the size of the Mighty+, weve got good news: the brand has a much smaller unit (roughly half the size) called the Crafty+, which was specifically designed to be more pocketable. It doesnt have the same battery life, but thats the trade-off for portability.

Id also be remiss in my duties if I didnt mention the Pax Plus, the brands newest offering (and our top overall vape pick), which is super easy to use and offers a better overall user experience than previous generations (like the Pax 3). Furthermore, if youre just not feeling the style of the Mighty+ and youre a fan of sharing, the DaVinci IQC makes for an excellent choice. Finally, if you're not into vaping at all, but you still want a means to smoke your weed from the comfort of your home, I'm a very big fan of the Honest Capsule Water Pipe, which just so happens to be our top bong pick.

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C-K smoking, vaping above provincial average | The Chatham Voice – Chatham Voice

Posted: at 11:53 am

Vaping in Chatham-Kent among students is double the provincial average.

Chatham-Kent Public Health officials are concerned the smoking rates here are higher than the provincial average.

And its killing people.

Jeff Moco, youth engagement co-ordinator for CK Public Health, said the most recent statistics indicate the rate of tobacco smoking in the province for people aged 15-plus is nine per cent. Here in Chatham-Kent its at 13 per cent.

Moco, in his report to the board of health, said smoking is estimated to be responsible for the death of 220 Chatham-Kent residents a year. Of those deaths, 92 are cancer-related, 63 are respiratory, 62 are cardiovascular and two are diabetic-related.

For the first time that I can really remember, Ontario Public Health has put a number on the burden smoking has put on our society, he said.

Whats more, tobacco smoking, Moco said, is responsible for 766 hospitalizations a year, and 1,723 emergency department visits annually in Chatham-Kent.

These smoking-attributable outcomes make up 19.4 per cent of all deaths, 9.4 per cent of all hospitalizations, and 4.4 per cent of all emergency department visits in Chatham-Kent, he stated in his report to the board of health recently.

As for vaping, Moco said provincial figures from the Ontario Student Drug and Health Survey indicate that in 2021, 15 per cent of students had vaped in the past year.

Local figures, with the most recent available from 2019, are much higher.

Moco said statistics from the Lambton-Kent District School Board show that 32 per cent of high school aged students vaped at least once a month.

With that figure, and the fact the highest adult age group for smoking locally is the 20-44 category at 23.2 per cent, the primary targets for smoking cessation efforts are teens and young adults.

This is a burden we all experience. This is preventable. It is our mission to help make a difference in this area. This is unsustainable, he said. We need to really, really focus on prevention; preventing a new generation of addiction to nicotine.

Dan Drouillard, a public health nurse, said the support for people looking to quit smoking has historically been quite fragmented in C-K.

The only tools weve basically had are some online programs, mail-out models, and they are quite limited in their success and what they can provide.

Drouillard said CK Public Health has partnered with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to use CAMHs STOP program.

This allows anyone without a family doctor in Chatham-Kent to get 26 weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy, as well as individualized counselling, he said. Were working on bringing this not only to Chatham, but to some of the outlying communities.

Due to the addictive nature of nicotine, Public Health officials arent expecting a 100-per-cent success rate. Far from it.

We want people to quit smoking, but our goal is to increase quit attempts on people aged 20-45. That will have the most impact, Drouillard said. People sometimes need to have multiple attempts to be successful. So getting people to try to quit is the most successful means.

Moco said it is difficult to grasp why the municipality has smoking and vaping rates above the provincial average.

In the past, people made a link between lower educational achievement and socio-economic status having a relationship with tobacco use, he said, alluding to the fact smoking rates were higher among the less educated and lower income groups in society. Vaping is more of a cultural phenomenon.

Vaping does differ from tobacco use, and some turn to it to escape cigarette smoking. But Moco said its not as safe as users may think.

Its not water vapour. The latest research is about 800 puffs per month on regular nicotine device has people reporting about the same number of respiratory issues as people who smoke 15 cigarettes a day, he said. Right now, Im dealing with people who do 800 puffs a week.

Young people kind of underestimate the addictive properties of these devices.

However, the federal government has issued information that vaping is safer than smoking tobacco in some ways.

Vaping products produce only a small fraction of the 7,000-plus chemicals found in tobacco smoke, as well as lower levels of the potentially harmful ones. Unlike cigarettes, vaping products do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, among many other chemicals, the Government of Canada website stated.

Furthermore, nicotine by itself does not appear to be a carcinogen.

While there are risks associated with nicotine, such as addiction and/or physical dependence, nicotine itself is not known to cause cancer. In contrast, cigarette smoke contains many disease-causing chemicals, including many that cause cancer, as well as heart and lung diseases, the federal website stated.

It did acknowledge the addictive nature of nicotine, however.

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Construction to begin on long-term project to prevent storm surge … – KTBS

Posted: May 26, 2023 at 9:28 pm

BATON ROUGE, La. - Hurricane season starts next week and several long-term projects to protect against storm surge are just getting started. Washington recently signed off on the money to provide some peace of mind for those in Ascension, Assumption, and St. James parishes.

The bill will deliver better flood control, coastal restoration, and hurricane protection, as well as direct investments in our ports and waterways.

"It's a long drawn out process when you recover from a hurricane," said Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre. "The swath of damage is extensive."

Year after year, Louisiana residents are left in recovery mode from devastating storms. Strong winds causing major damage to homes and above all, flooding, a main concern in our southern parishes.

"I would love to have an Ascension Parish where the concern of flooding is no longer an issue," Webre said.

In December 2022, the Water Resources Development Act was passed to help prioritize coastal ecosystem restoration. It's a vital $1.8 billion project that would benefit coastal parishes and includes Ascension, Assumption, and St. James.

"It is going to effectively put a barrier down at the bottom of that 'Achilles heel,' or vulnerability, and prevent storm surge from going all the way up into the parishes like Assumption, St. James, and even all the way up into Ascension Parish during a tidal surge or hurricane type event," said Congressman Garret Graves.

A surge like what we saw in 2012 when Hurricane Isaac brought major flooding into St. James Parish. Isaac made landfall in Plaquemines Parish as a category one. The project would prevent that surge from reaching the three parishes, something Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre agrees is a project that's also needed in their area.

"They all matter and they all will make a difference," Webre said of the projects. "And that is good for the parish of Ascension and good for our residents here to be able to say 'you know what, we are at least heading in the right direction' to mitigate the flooding that we have because none of us want to go through the things that we went through."

But as for a completion date, that's going to take some time.

"We need about another four to five years to get some of these key projects in place or at least some of the base of these key projects in place," Congressman Graves said. "So what I'm praying for this hurricane season, and the next several is that we don't get it, that really is it, that we need a little bit more time to make progress to actually get these dollars invested in the ground."

Construction on the project, which would be seen around the Barataria basin, is expected to be completed in about 10 years.

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How To Reach Cere’s Base In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor – TheGamer

Posted: at 9:28 pm

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after the events of Jedi: Fallen Order. The game continues to follow Cal Kestis and BD-1 in their neverending struggle to topple the Galactic Empire and restore the Jedi Order.

RELATED: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Hardest Trophies To Get

Kestiss journey takes him to the desert planet of Jedha, where he hopes to reunite with his former Jedi companion Cere Junda. Kestis managed to find her contact to help reach her hidden base but theyll need to hold off patrolling Empire forces.

After Merrin arrives to save Kestis from a group of Stormtroopers, a few more waves of enemies will attack you. Utilize Merrins dark magic to immobilize enemies to make it easier for you to take them down.

Once youve defeated the Empire forces, have Merrin create a holder for Kestis ascension cable so you can ascend the wall.

Merrins magic allows her to create ascension holders that were previously broken.

Head down the path and loop around to the next level. Youll find a Jedha Scroll to your left, then use the Force to push the large block down the slope.

Continue pushing the block until its in between the stone walls, then climb up the block to reach the ledge above you.

Keep heading down the path as it narrows until a cutscene occurs.

Drop down into the group of Stormtroopers and clear out the patrol.

Interact with the speeder to trigger another cutscene, then have Merrin create a holder for Kestiss ascension cable to wall run and reach the other side.

There will be a longer wall to run on, so you might need to jump in the middle to reset Kestiss wall run.

Squeeze through the opening and use the Force to push the opening but the rocks will block the path.

Merrin will use her magic to restore the opening so you can continue moving forward.

Wall run and jump on the metal grate to climb on the wall. Examine the Spamels from a distance, then use the Halls Of Ranvell Meditation Point nearby.

After using the Meditation Point, sense the Echo down the path to the right of Merrin. Keep heading down the path to find a Jedha Scroll at the bottom of the steps.

The door is locked on the other side, so head back up to the Meditation Point and run toward Merrin. Use a sky attack on the Stormtroopers below and eliminate the rest of the group.

You can use the Force to pull the shield off a Stormtrooper and throw it back at them for damage.

Before asking Merrin to make a holder for your ascension cable, turn around and run on the wall to reach an area that Merrin will say isnt in the direction of Ceres base.

Jump on the patches of the wall so Kestis can stick to them until you reach the top platform. Interact with the Powerup to receive some experience points.

Be sure to use the Meditation Point to cash in the Skill Point you most likely earned from the Powerup.

Return to the area you defeated the Stormtroopers and now ask Merrin to create the ascension cable holder and climb up the ledge. There will be a Stormtrooper to the left waiting to shoot you, so be prepared to block right away.

Jump on the ceiling to climb across to the other side, then round the corner and take down the Flametrooper waiting on the steps. Defeat them and scan the databank to the left.

Drop down from the ledge and defeat the first Stormtrooper before deflecting several blaster shots from the other Stormtrooper from the other side of the platform.

Once theyre dead, run on the wall to the other side and climb up the metal wall grate. As youre climbing, youll see Merrin take down a few Stormtroopers. Climb up the ledge and head down the path to find another ledge to climb.

Head out of the side opening and wall jump to an opening above you to find a Jedha Scroll.

Drop down to the lowest level of the structure and follow the path to find a holder for your ascension cable to latch yourself to a grate above.

Swing your way to the end of the path and drop down on the Stormtrooper. Head inside and walk along the path then wall run to reach the other side across the gap.

Turn around and wall run again to reach another platform.

Continue down the ramp and wall run again to reach the highest platform. Kill the Stormtroopers in the area, then scan the databank on the far lefthand wall.

Directly on the opposite wall of the databank will be a crate with Common Plastoid color palette for BD-1 Materials.

There is a workbench next to the crate that you can use.

Head down the side path and climb up the metal grate, then climb around the left side to find a patrol of Stormtroopers. Defeat the Stormtroopers and have BD-1 activate a shortcut.

Examine the storm in the distance, then run to the edge of the path, and wall run to the end of the cliff wall to use your lightsaber to descend.

Kestis and Merrin will land in a Skriton lair, the beast that was stalking you underneath the sand earlier. This creature resembles a giant scorpion, so youll want to avoid its claws and tail.

The Skriton will use its larger claw to protect its face and lash out quickly with its tail. It will also try slamming its claw into the ground as an unguardable attack.

Alternate between Merrins dark magic and Kestiss time-slow ability and the Skriton will be disposed of rather quickly.

Scan the Skriton corpse, then have Merrin create a holder for your ascension cable. Youll emerge in the Divine Oasis, the main open area of Jedha.

Sense the Echo near the camp and then circle around to find a Jedha Scroll.

Tame the Spamel, and youll be able to ride the creature.

Unlike the Nekkos on Koboh, Spamels can sprint. They can also walk up the slopes, so follow the path over the slope and youll be in the same area where you swung on the metal bar into the group of Hardshells.

Lead the Spamel up the middle path that resembles an open hand and head across the pillar. Continue heading down the path until you enter the Abandoned Tradeway.

Keep following the path through an underpass and sprint through the desert after the Empire ships. The desert storm winds will become more intense and a cutscene will trigger as you run into another Skriton.

Kestis will be knocked off the Spamel, so walk carefully through the storm to find Merrin, and shell fix the broken bridge. When you try to walk across it, a pillar will fall and break it.

Continue following Merrin through the storm until you encounter a group of Stormtroopers. There will also be an AT-ST among the group as well, a giant machine that fires blasters and grenades.

Use Merrin to immobilize the AT-ST and continue to hack away. When its health is depleted, use your ascension cable to scale the AT-ST, and Kestis will yank the pilot from the cockpit.

After the cutscene, continue following Merrin to find shelter from the sandstorm. Youll also find the Spamel safe in the cave. Another cutscene will occur.

When Kestis and Merrin wake up, the storm has cleared. Head through the cave and use the Sheltered Hollow Meditation Point on the right.

Continue down the path and open the crate on the left for another Health Stim.

Use your ascension cable to begin wall running - youll need to jump in the middle to keep wall running to reach the next ascension cable holder before falling to the slope below.

Once you drop into the new area, jump across the gap and climb the ledges on the rock pillar. Run on the wall to the top platform where Merrin is waiting and keep heading toward the metal door on the side of the rock wall.

When you reach the door, a cutscene will trigger, and Jedi Master Eno Cordova opens the door for you. Follow Cordova and Merrin to the Base Antechamber and take the lift down.

Eventually, youll see the Mantis descend into the hangar. Use the second lift to arrive on the ground level with the Mantis.

Head across the hangar, and youll pass a spike with Stormtrooper armor on it. There will be a lift behind the spike, but you wont be able to use it.

Continue into the next area and use the Force to push the orb across the room to open the door to the Archives. Here, you'll find Cere and complete the objective.

NEXT: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - How To Defeat Every Legendary Enemy

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NFL investigating fifth Lions player for violation of leagues gambling policy: Sources – The Athletic

Posted: at 9:28 pm

The NFL is investigating a fifth player on the 2022 Detroit Lions roster for a potential violation of the leagues gambling policy, league sources told The Athletic.

The Athletic is not naming the player at this time because the investigation is ongoing. The player currently under investigation was not a prominent member of the 2022 team. He has yet to be interviewed by the leagues investigator. The players agent declined to comment when reached by The Athletic, as did spokespersons for the NFL, NFLPA and the Lions.

This player is the fifth 2022 Lions player to be investigated for a gambling policy violation this offseason. On April 21, the NFL announced the suspensions of four other Lions players for gambling. Safety C.J. Moore and wide receiver Quintez Cephus received indefinite suspensions for betting on NFL action, and wide receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill received six-game suspensions for placing bets on non-NFL action while at the Lions facility, a violation of the leagues gambling policy. The Lions released Moore and Cephus immediately. On May 9, the team released Berryhill.

Commanders defensive lineman Shaka Toney was also suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games.

GO DEEPER

What are the NFLs gambling rules?

On Monday, ESPN reported that the league is investigating a second wave of potential violations of its gambling policy.

In April, the NFLPA sent a memo to all NFL agents that addressed the recent suspensions for violations of the gambling policy and warned them that players should never open or use a mobile gambling app while at work.

NFL gambling policy prohibits team staff, league staff and players from placing bets on any sport at any league facility, including stadiums that house sportsbooks, or while traveling with their teams.

(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)

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Lions WR Jameson Williams says he wasn’t aware of NFL’s strict gambling rules after 6-game suspension – Yahoo Sports

Posted: at 9:28 pm

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams was the highest-profile player among the five suspended by the NFL last month for gambling violations, and was the only one to not lost his job after the punishment was announced.

The former No. 12 overall pick addressed his six-game suspension with reporters for the first time on Thursday, telling them he was unaware of the league's strict rules against gambling at team facilities.

Via Brad Galli of WXYZ Detroit:

It hit me out of the of blue. It hit a couple other players around the league and on my team out of the blue. I wasn't aware of this situation, but as it happened, I took it on the chin. I was ready to move forward. As things moved on, I got the consequences. That's been my whole plan, moving forward from things, just looking at the better days.

Williams and fellow Lions wideout Stanley Berryhill were both suspended six games, while Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus, Lions safety C.J. Moore and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney were all suspended indefinitely. All of those players save Williams have since been released.

Williams' reported offense was betting on college football games while at a team facility, which is explicitly forbidden by the league's gambling rules. He didn't divulge much detail on the exact nature of the offense Thursday, saying he wasn't sure where at the facility he made the bets.

He also said he didn't bother appealing and looked forward to returning in Week 7:

"I just left it alone. They gave me six games and we left it that. Just looking forward to coming back Week 7, getting back on my team out there playing the game."

While Williams said he was unaware of how strictly the NFL handles gambling by its players, the league did make its outlook quite clear in 2022 when it suspended then-Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley for a full season.

In that case, Ridley was reported to have bet $1,500 in late 2021 on a series of parlays that included other sports, but also Falcons games. He had stepped away from football at that point, so he did not play in those games, but he obviously had access to the team that would make sportsbooks frown once they learned who was making the bet.

The nature of Ridley's and Williams' offenses are clearly different, but it was pretty clear the NFL was making an example out of the former.

What made Williams' suspension most frustrating was how long it took him to reach the field last season.

One of the most talented receivers in the 2022 NFL Draft, Williams didn't make his NFL debut until Week 12 after tearing his ACL in the College Football Playoff championship game. That was apparently too late for him to build any meaningful role in the Lions offense, as he finished the season with one catch on nine targets for 41 yards, plus a 40-yard rush.

Now, Williams has to wait again to make his season debut. He will return sooner and is able to practice in the meantime, but that won't be much consolation to Lions fans who want to see the player they've waited for since his name was announced in the draft.

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Lions WR Jameson Williams says he wasn't aware of NFL's strict gambling rules after 6-game suspension - Yahoo Sports

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Why sports betting is everywhere. – Slate

Posted: at 9:27 pm

If you watch live sports these days, there is one thingbesides the athletes, the announcers, and the play-by-playthats always there: betting. A 2018 Supreme Court decision made sports betting legal, and since then, its become seemingly inextricable from every aspect of big-time sports. You cant turn on the TV or use the internet or even listen to a podcast without the ever-present opportunity to take the over or the under.

On a recent episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with John Holden, an associate professor at Oklahoma State University, about the crucial role of technology in bettings domination of live sports. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Obviously, sports betting is not a new thing. Can you walk us through the history?

Sports betting and sports are probably a little bit of chicken-egg: What came first? We can look back to ancient Greecethere was betting back then. So, sports and gambling have always been connected. In the U.S., weve gone through different waves of how we view gambling, both sports betting and gambling more broadly.

After World War II, there were big concerns about gambling and its connection to organized crime. Back in the 1950s, there was the Kefauver Committee, which was a famous 13-, 14-city tour by Senator Estes Kefauver, and he went around and he interviewed a number of organized crime figures. It really shone a light on what organized crime does in the United States, and one of the things to come out of that was that sports betting was one of their primary moneymaking operations. During this time, we also saw the emergence of Nevada and Las Vegas, and theres obviously some organized crime overlap there.

For a while, Nevada was basically a lone gambling outpost. Then, tribal lands started experimenting with gaming in the 70s and 80s, and a few states saw that and thought gambling might boost tax revenue and help them recover from the brutal recession of the early 80s. What happened next?

New Jersey and New York were all considering sports betting, and at this time the sports leagues didnt like the idea that more states would have betting. The fear at the time was that more sports betting would lead to more game fixing. Major League Baseball and all the other sports leagues really had this fear that if we had legal betting, we would see the 1919 World Series just repeat itself over and over again and it would effectively spell the end of organized sports.

What ends up happening is, over three years, the professional sports leagues and the NCAA lobby Congress to pass a law. Congress couldnt pass a law banning sports betting because Nevadas gaming interests were simply too strong. But what they did do was they passed a law freezing gambling in place as it existed in 1992.

So, it effectively banned sports betting, except for Nevada?

Effectively, yes.

But slowly, the positions of the major sports leagues began to shift. New Jersey legalized some sports betting in 2012, and even though the leagues were fighting with New Jersey, they began to realize that the national mood was changing. What did that shift look like?

NBA commissioner Adam Silver writes a New York Times op-ed, and it says, not only should sports betting be legalized, but the federal government should regulate it. He said, theres $400 billion going offshoreSlate had an article around 2014 talking about how this number is completely made upbut the idea was that all this moneys going offshore, were not taxing it, we cant see whats happening. Lets bring it on shore and regulate it.

A version of the New Jersey fight went all the way to the Supreme Court, and in May 2018, sports betting became legal. A few companies capitalized right out of the gate because they were already dominating the world of online fantasy sports. What was the key to their success?

Daily fantasy sports really served as a test run for the U.S. market, for whether society was ready for this shift toward legalized gambling. It also allowed the sports leagues the ability to see the reactions that people had to them partnering with these companies. At one time, a number of sports leagues owned pieces of these daily fantasy companies and every league and most teams had a partnership with daily fantasy companies. It became ubiquitous around the country. Despite the fact that [fantasy sports] existed within this sort of questionable legal spacewhere people werent sure, Is this gambling? Is it fantasy sports?the product survived and it continued to thrive up until the opportunity to legalize [sports betting] after the Supreme Court.

FanDuel and DraftKings command a huge market share right now. Were they able to just carry all their fantasy players along with them the minute the Supreme Court said go?

A lot of people thought that what would happen is the legacy brands from Nevadathe MGMs, the Caesars, the William Hills, the companies that have been running sports books for yearswould be the ones that consumers would gravitate to. What we saw was that no, people wanted to use FanDuel and DraftKings. Theyve been playing on these platforms for years. Theyre familiar with the user interface, theyre familiar with how the deposit systems work. And the two daily fantasy giants have really turned sports betting on its head and, at the moment, control somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 to 90 percent of the market, depending on the month.

Whats the role of technology in enabling this kind of betting?

We know that when the internet became a household staple, two things emerged: porn and gambling. You get new technology, you immediately get the vice industries. Theres been internet gambling since 1995, and people became familiar with that. As technology advanced, so did gambling technology. When sports betting was legalized, a lot of people who perhaps are less familiar with the offshore world of sports betting thought that people would want that Nevada experiencegoing to the sports book, seeing the 50 TVs, the big couches, you go up to a window, you place a bet. But what we found after is that no, people dont actually want that. Thats something that Las Vegas does very well and thats why you go to Las Vegas. If youre in New Jersey or Delaware or North Dakota, people want to bet from their couch, they want to bet from their phones. So what were seeing now is 90 to 95 percent of all bets are being placed online.

So it really is an internet thing?

Absolutely.

In the U.S., advertising and marketing around sports betting is everywhere. Is it the same in Europe?

Europe is not a monolith, and perhaps our best country as a mirror would be the U.K. They took a number of steps a few years ago to ban numerous pieces of content from gambling advertising, like making it look like youre having more fun than it is, making it look like gambling makes you sexy. And weve recently seen the publishing of a white paper that pushes even further with recommendations to protect European bettors. One of the things that England has done is that they dont allow advertising of sports betting during soccer broadcasts, so theres no gambling advertisements allowed during Premier League soccer gamesthats one of these things that their research shows lessens irresponsible gambling.

There are also colleges with exclusive betting relationships with particular companies. What do you make of that?

There was a lot of controversy when the University of Colorado signed a deal with PointsBet whereby PointsBet would be the official gambling partner of the University of Colorado athletic department. After the controversy broke, a number of schools were much more quiet about their partnerships, but it was still happening. We saw Michigan State sign a deal with Caesars. LSU very, very prominently signed a deal with Caesars, and a large number of people received an email informing them that they could get a free bet or something to that extent from Caesars if they had a ticket to the game. It really raised a lot of eyebrows about whether sports betting companies should be associated with college sports and, to a bigger extent, whether they should be allowed on campuses where the majority of undergraduate students are still under 21, which is sort of the default age for legal gambling.

The extent of these partnerships certainly varies. Im sure youre like me; you receive a lot of emails, and youre like, How did I get on this mailing list? Mailing lists are one of the valuable commodities that people have, so its not surprising that Caesars or PointsBet or FanDuel want access to a large list of customers that are in sort of their target demographics. State laws and gambling regulations around the country prohibit targeting underage bettors. We have seen, however, that this does happen occasionallyunderage bettors or people who are on self-exclusion or prohibited lists are receiving sports betting content that they shouldnt be.

In the past few weeks, there have been a series of sports gambling scandals. For example, at least 41 athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State are being investigated for betting on sports, which is against NCAA rules. Then, the University of Alabamas baseball coach was fired after being linked to suspicious bets. This all feels like a critical mass. Do you think there is any sentimenteither from the public or from lawmakersthat maybe weve gone too far?

I think some states are feeling this. We saw Rep. Paul Tonko from New York introduce legislation that would ban gambling advertisements in Congress. We are hearing rising calls for something to be done. We have now seen the American Gaming Association, the chief industry group, put out new guidelines around advertising, and a conglomeration of operators and sports leagues put out their own guidelines largely echoing the themes of the American Gaming Association. The question is, can they do it? The reality is, simply not advertising on college campuses is not going to be enough to stop this. You have to tone down the broadcast during the games.

I think the bigger issue with gambling restrictions would be the First Amendment. Rep. Tonkos initiativethat would effectively give it the cigarette treatment and say no advertisingwould run into problems. I dont think that we have the history around gambling that we have around tobacco that would allow it to survive a First Amendment challenge. We could probably place some guardrails around the advertising, but a blanket ban would likely face a challenge and probably be defeated.

So, where is this all going?

Thats really the billion-dollar question. I think a lot of people expect that in the next five years were going to see some things come out that we dont like. Were likely going to see problem gambling numbers rise. Were going to see questions about how much tax revenue this has actually brought in. For the gambling companies, the big objective is to have sports betting as a placeholdermuch like daily fantasy sports wasuntil online gaming, online casinos are legalized, because theres much better profit margins. Around the country, were going to see a lot more care be put into how we go about legalizing this.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.

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Why sports betting is everywhere. - Slate

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Ivan Toneys diagnosed gambling addiction led to reduced ban as report shows striker bet on own team 29 times – The Athletic

Posted: at 9:27 pm

Ivan Toneys diagnosed gambling addiction provided significant mitigation in allowing the Brentford striker a reduced ban from football.

Toney, 27, was handed an eight-month ban from the sport by an independent regulatory commission earlier this month, having admitted to 232 breaches of FA rules on betting.

The details of Toneys case were published on Friday and showed that the FA had initially asked for a 15-month ban for the England international that would have started at the beginning of the 2023-24 season, which the independent commission reduced to eight in light of pleading guilty and his medically diagnosed gambling addiction.

The striker took to Twitter after the written reasons were released to say: Ill speak soon with no filter.

Toney placed 29 bets, or instructed bets to be placed, on clubs he was registered with between February 2017 and January 2021.

There were 16 bets on Toneys team to win in 15 matches, in which he played 11. There were 13 bets on his team to lose in 11 matches. Of those 13, 11 were against Newcastle United while he was out on loan at other clubs. The other two came when Toney was on loan at Wigan Athletic and they played Aston Villa, but he was not in the squad.

The commission, therefore, concluded that Toneys case was not one of match-fixing.

Toney also placed 15 bets on himself to score across nine matches.

The commission said that, in Toneys case, there is gambling addiction which provides significant mitigation.

But it concluded that, although it was claimed that Toney did not properly appreciate the rules (on gambling) until after he registered with Brentford (in 2020), he was in fact aware from 2017 that betting on football was prohibited by the FA.

Toney also claimed that he bet through third parties in order to conceal his gambling from his parents, rather than the FA. The commission rejected this claim.

Dr Philip Hopley, a distinguished consultant psychiatrist, submitted a report in February that found Toney had a clear history of gambling addiction after twice interviewing him. Hopley concluded that Toney needed professional help to deal with his addiction.

Hopleys report led the commission to conclude that the lack of control the player has in respect of gambling is clearly a reflection of his diagnosed gambling addiction.

The position appears to be that Mr Toney has ceased gambling on football although he still gambles on other sports and casino games. He is determined to address his gambling problem with therapy at the conclusion of this season.

Toneys eight-month ban from football ends on January 16, 2024 but he is allowed to return to training in September.

Brentford also issued a statement upon the release of the commissions report, stating that they consider the matter closed.

The Premier League side added that they will now be doing everything possible to provide support to Ivan and his family to deal with the issues raised in this case.

GO DEEPER

Ivan Toney's betting ban shames the whole of football, not just him

(Photo: Getty Images)

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Ivan Toneys diagnosed gambling addiction led to reduced ban as report shows striker bet on own team 29 times - The Athletic

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Don’t treat crypto like gambling even if it is largely pointless – Financial Times

Posted: at 9:27 pm

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Don't treat crypto like gambling even if it is largely pointless - Financial Times

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