Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 16, 1993 TAG: 9303160145
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BRIEFS
Aging helpThere's a new mail-order business called Comfort House that markets "senior friendly" products. An example of the kind of product offered is the tap turner, a device that makes it easier to turn on stubborn faucets indoors and outdoors. To order the free twice-yearly catalog, printed in large typeface, call (800) 359-7701, or write to: Comfort House, 189 Frelinghuysen Ave., Dept. O, Newark, N.J. 07114-1595.
Speaking of the elderly, if you're a working suburbanite, you and your family may already be living in your retirement home. Suburban areas nationwide are becoming havens for retirees who choose not to move, American Demographics magazine reports.
Teen-age drivers
The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended a nationwide crackdown on teen-age driving, including a nighttime curfew on driving by younger teen-agers and license suspension on the spot for adolescents caught driving with any amount of alcohol in their blood. The board says teen-age drivers account for a disproportionately high number of highway fatalities. The board does not have the power to impose rules, but its reports often spark action by other government agencies and public-interest groups.
Now hear this
All infants should be given hearing tests within hours of birth, using new technology that makes it possible to detect deafness in the newborn. So urges the National Institutes of Health, which reports that more than half of American babies born into silence are not identified as hearing-impaired for more than two years, a delay that can leave them unnecessarily handicapped for life.
Tuning out Joe Camel
If you're concerned about your children smoking, the good news is that Joe Camel isn't lighting up youngsters' lives. In a recent marketing survey, just 58 percent of children ages 6 to 11 were familiar with the Camel cigarette cartoon character, and only 22 percent of those familiar with him had a favorable opinion, compared to 59 percent with an unfavorable one, Advertising Age magazine reports. The average cartoon character has a familiarity - or "Q" - rating of 64 percent.