As a worrying number of youngsters take up vaping(电子烟), the Government has announced a crackdown on laws to stop kids from becoming addicted to the dangerous habit.

Disposable(一次性的) vapes are now set to be banned in the UK as part of the Prime Minister's new legislation(立法) to"stop youth vaping in its tracks". Recent research shows that one in five teens has now tried vaping, despite it being illegal for under-18s, and half of those who vape between 18 and 24 do so despite having no history of smoking.

Last year, figures showed the number of adults using e-cigarettes in the UK had risen to the highest rate on record at roughly 4.3 million Brits. According to the charity Action on Smoking and Health, almost 1,000 serious adverse reactions to vapes were logged, including five deaths linked to e-cigarettes in the last decade.

And it's not just over-the-counter vapes at the center of the country's vaping crisis —— fake e-cigarettes with deadly chemicals have sparked concerns. An investigation by the Mirror in 2023revealed one man's fears for his life after he suffered a collapsed lung as a result of a fake,unlicensed pack of vapes purchased from a corner shop in County Durham.

Alex Gittins, 31, thought he bagged himself a bargain but ended up in hospital just hours later. He said: "I noticed an awful chemical taste in the back of my throat, then five to 10minutes later I felt what was like a stitch. I'm lying in A&E thinking I was going to die."

A regular vaper was told he had just a one percent chance of survival after being left in need of a double lung transplant. Jackson Allard, 22, underwent the life-saving operation on January 1, putting an end to a series of serious health issues.

Medical expert Stephanie Hansen has voiced concerns about the unknown long-term effects of e-cigarettes. She said: "Vaping or e-cigarette use is relatively new, so we don't necessarily know a lot of the long-term effects of vaping and that's honestly one of the scariest things about it."

As I work in the garden, I take my time and the garden is teaching me about working with the earth. I recognize that there will be both successes and failures and there are many variables that affect them both.

The quality of the seeds planted has a bearing on how well the plants will grow. But the weather affects that most. It can be too hot, too cold, or exactly right, and usually fluctuates (起伏) between all three. Weeds seem to grow well in the garden and need to be taken care of and pulled to ensure they do not destroy the fruits, vegetables, and flowers we have so lovingly planted.

I take time to stand back and rest, and to observe the plants and how they are growing. Each plant is unique and develops in the way that is best for them. Some have large broad leaves to protect their fruit from the harsh rays of the sun, while other plants are more open, their fruit needing the light to grow and ripen.

Getting my hands dirty, feeling the sweat on my brow, and the strength and flexibility of my body as I dig, bend and work under the warm summer sun, reminds me I am alive in ways I would not have remembered sitting on the couch.

It is very inspiring to move things around, to transplant, and to disturb the natural order of how plants grow. The garden teaches me that it is important to know when to disturb things and when to let them be. The garden's life cycle follows a pattern that is repeated according to laws of nature, birth, and growth, and then dies and it teaches us to accept this fact.

Perhaps life is like the garden, successes and failures, time to be active and time to rest, to let go of what is no longer needed, to cultivate (培养) what helps us to grow into our light and power, and to embrace life from beginning to end. 

Xi Jinping's announcement that China will stop funding overseas coal projects could buy the world about three more months in the race to keep global heating to a relatively safe level of 1.5C, experts say.

Although the impact will depend on implementation(实施), China's declaration should also help to kill off coal, which has been humanity's primary power source for most of the last 200 years.

The immediate impact is likely to be felt in the countries that rely most heavily on Chinese funding for new coal projects. The governments in these nations will now have to decide whether to find alternative funding from the private sector, where the borrowing costs can be high — as Pakistan has recently found out — or whether to shift to renewables, which Xi has promised to support.

Despite the uncertainties over implementation, Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, said China's announcement would accelerate decarbonisation. "Countries now know that going forward, there is no financing on the table for coal. That should clarify things a lot."

Another positive knock-on effect would be to push Japan to follow suit. The government in Tokyo has already taken steps in this direction but left a door open for financing by its private-sector institutions. Their geopolitical reason had been that they did not want to leave China as the only option for regional energy projects. With Xi's announcement, they now have no excuse not to slam the door shut for good. Likewise for South Korea, formerly one of the world's biggest coal backers, which has recently moved towards decarbonisation.