Have you heard the news? The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was just passed into law – a law that will save countless lives! This is a huge victory for the health of all Americans – and a major step forward in the fight against cancer. For the American Cancer Society’s movement for more birthdays, it’s cause for celebration! It is also a cause for celebration because a world with less tobacco means a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

This week John Seffrin, chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society, attended the signing, and had this to say: “This new law will do so much to further our mission to save lives from cancer, saving millions of birthdays in years to come.” Click here to watch a special video from Dr. Seffrin and learn more about this major milestone in the fight against cancer.

For decades, the American Cancer Society and its advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN) has been leading the fight against tobacco. Thanks to our many dedicated supporters like you who attended dozens of meetings, gave financial support, made more than 5,000 phone calls, and sent 18,500 emails to our nation’s lawmakers, our hard work has finally paid off!

Here’s a look at just what the new law does:

• Tobacco companies must reveal all product ingredients to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and seek FDA approval for any new products.

• Our nation’s children – potential first-time smokers – will no longer be seduced by flavored tobacco products, including candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes, which will be banned.

• Consumers won’t be misled by cigarettes labeled “light,” “mild,” or “low-tar” as healthier choices. These have also been banned.

• Warning labels will be clearly visible, taking up at least half of the front and back of cigarette packages.

• The only way to buy tobacco will be in person – no more public cigarette vending machines in places where IDs haven’t been checked.

• Children will be further protected from tobacco advertisements and sponsorships, which will be banned near schools and playgrounds and at sports or entertainment events. The law also restricts colorful store displays.

Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office estimates this law could reduce youth smoking by 11 percent and adult smoking by 2 percent during the next decade. That means there will be far fewer lives lost to cancer caused by tobacco, and far more birthdays to celebrate.

Together let’s continue creating a world where no one is addicted to tobacco, and cancer never steals another day from anyone’s life. To join the movement for more birthdays, visit morebirthdays.com.

Happy Birthday to June Carter Cash! The wife of music legend Johnny Cash spent her life surrounded by art and music. She put out three successful solo albums, and her relationship with country legend Johnny Cash provided inspiration for classics such as “Ring of Fire.”

Ms. Cash was notable not only for her artistic abilities, but for the support she lent to her family and community. Happy Birthday, Ms. Cash. You’ll be remembered.

Many parents are spending big for their kids’ birthdays. Hard times or no, these parents want to give their children the fond birthday memories they never had. But it’s easy to forget that birthdays are more about sentiment than ornament. Read the full article in The Dallas Morning News, excerpts below:

The business of kids’ birthday parties is growing up fast

The birthday girl blew a kiss as she emerged from a hot pink limousine.

She sprinted toward the entrance of the “pampering headquarters” with a gaggle of 6-year-olds in tow. They’d spend almost two hours with stylists who would apply makeup, paint their nails, sweep up their hair and show them how to strut down a runway. The girl’s parents would spend at least $300. Facials and pedicures were a separate package.

Welcome to the modern child’s birthday party, an industry still going strong despite the weak economy. In this business, the options, the prices and the expectations are all still growing up fast.

“There are definitely people still spending that money on birthday parties,” said Shannon Ayres, who owns three local bounce houses and sees no significant decline in sales this year.

These destination spots – which have sprouted nationwide – are especially prominent in Collin County, where busy parents can choose the convenience of a prepared celebration over the traditional backyard cake and candles.

But in an era of record job losses and financial strain, the extravagance of these occasions has left some parents fearing compromised values and others feeling pressured to keep up, despite the cost. There’s even a Web site for parents to lament birthday party excess, with tales of exotic animals, plane rides and credit card bills.

“You feel like you have to invite everyone their age and go all out,” said Vicki Messler of McKinney, who has two children under 6. Her sons’ parties usually include 30 kids and cost several hundred dollars, with entertainment and goodie bags.

She said she’s tried to lower costs by selecting activities that accommodate a larger number of children, like ordering a petting zoo, renting a gym or taking a free tour of a fire station.

“Lots of parents overdo it,” she said, “and I think money is a part.”

‘Snowball effect’

Arminta Jacobson, the director of the Center for Parent Education at the University of North Texas, calls the rising expectations of partygoers and their parents the “snowball effect.” And businesses are responding with offerings that are increasingly elaborate and expensive.

A three-course meal and themed evening at American Girl Boutique and Bistro in Dallas: $450.

An eight-girl spa fest at Frisco’s tweener hotspot Sweet & Sassy: $399. Limo: an extra $150.

Here’s a video of the eight-year-old Sweet & Sassy experience:

A two-hour weekend party with two pizza slices and goodie bags for 26 kids at Pump It Up, Frisco’s inflatable heaven: $379.

Even now, price tags are no deterrent, said Ayres, who has seen the party market catapult in the 6 ½ years since she opened Frisco’s Pump It Up. She brings in more than $1 million in annual revenue …

Precise figures for the industry are still hard to come by, said Sarah DiCello, the communications and marketing manager for the group based in Hershey, Pa.

“Nobody really knows how many of these birthday party sites there are because they are being redefined,” she said, adding that a variety of venues, from bowling alleys to swimming pools, are starting to offer birthday packages.

“Moms just don’t have time anymore. They want to take their kids to a place and be done with it.”

Keep values in mind

William Doherty has watched the fanfare of the modern party with horror.

Doherty declared a “moratorium on goodie bags” two years ago with a group of mothers in Minneapolis and launched “Birthdays Without Pressure,” a Web outlet for frustrated parents that receives regular comments.

“This is sort of a movement,” said Doherty, a professor in the University of Minnesota’s family social science department and the past president of the National Council on Family Relations, a family study organization.

One woman he knows maxed out her credit card on a party for her 1-year-old. The boy slept through it. In a culture that breeds MTV’s My Super Sweet 16 – the ultimate in conspicuous-consumption birthday parties – Doherty saw a lapse in values.

“We are driven by community norms that get in the way,” he said. “We are not saying parties must be simple and intimate. But make them consistent with your values. An overnight with two to three kids can be cool.”

Making memories

Tomeka Jasper has every intention of making her 3-year-old’s birthdays meaningful, even if it means excessive spending in an economic downturn.

“I want my child to have the fond memories and experiences I didn’t have,” said Jasper, who grew up with eight other siblings in rural Arkansas. Pizza Hut was their splurge.

The party’s not until January, but Jasper and her daughter, Alexandra, are already planning. A safari theme was rejected in favor of one with nail polish and pedicures, said Jasper, who lives in Plano.

But on this day, Alexandra, busy beeping an imaginary horn at Frisco’s Wiggly Play Center, had another idea.

“I want a birthday cake,” she said.

Everyone wants their kids’ birthdays to be meaningful, but that doesn’t have to mean spending a small fortune. Here at the Official Birthday Blog we offer party planning tips completely free. For more birthday ideas visit morebirthdays.com, where you can send free birthday e-cards, build a Birthday Page and — best of all — help create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.

This weekend Ron Hornaday Jr. had a very happy birthday. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion won first place in the Milwaukee Mile on Saturday night — his 51st birthday — taking back the lead in the Truck Series standings.

“This is really cool,” said Hornaday of his victory. “I have to dedicate this win to my mother-in-law who we call ‘Gram.’ She’s been in the hospital and is not doing too well. In the 30 years my wife and I have been married this is probably only the eighth race she’s missed. I hope this lifts her spirits a little.”

Hornaday, the three-time Truck Series champ and driver for Kevin Harvick Inc., led 180 of the 200 laps, finishing first under blue skies. The race marked his 41st Truck Series win, the most of any driver. He now holds a 36-point lead over Matt Crafton in the Truck Series standings.

Happy Birthday to Hornaday! Best wishes for a happy, healthy 2010 for him and his mother-in-law.

Happy Birthday, Lou Gehrig! The record-setting baseball legend would have been 106 today. He anchored the Yankees’ “Bronx Bomber” teams of the 1920s and set the world record by playing in 2,130 consecutive games over 14 seasons.

His career was cut short when he was diagnosed with an incurable neurodegenerative disease that would later become known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease.” In his goodbye speech at Yankee Stadium, he called himself “the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”

Read the full text of Lou’s speech here. And watch the video clip from Ken Burns’s “Baseball” mini-series, narrated by David McCullough.

Early Days

Henry Louis Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903, in the Yorkville section of Manhattan. He excelled both academically and athletically, and was a star player on the football and baseball teams at Columbia University, writes Living Legacies, Columbia’s alumni magazine.

Gehrig famously hit many home runs out of Columbia’s South Field, including one off the university library’s steps. In 1923, New York Yankee scout Paul Krichell convinced Gehrig to leave Columbia after his sophomore year and sign for the Yankees.

Notable Accomplishments

After spending two years bouncing between the Yankees and their minor league affiliate in Hartford, Gehrig joined the Yankees for good in 1925. On June 2, 1925, with starting first baseman Wally Pipp out with a head injury, Gehrig took over as first base. He would not relinquish his spot in the lineup for 14 seasons, playing in 2,130 consecutive games.

In 1927, he hit .373 with 47 homers and 175 RBIs, winning the MVP award and helping the ’27 Yankees—regarded as one of the greatest teams ever—to a World Series championship. He and Babe Ruth dominated the game, finishing 1–2 in home runs for five straight years and sometimes out-homering entire teams. Gehrig was often overshadowed by Ruth’s larger-than-life personality, but he didn’t mind: “It’s a pretty big shadow. It gives me lots of room to spread myself,” he said …

On May 2, 1939, feeling weak and sluggish, Gehrig removed himself from the lineup, recounts MLB.com. A month later, he would be diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable disease. He would never play again.

Gehrig finished his career with a .340 lifetime batting average, with 493 homers and 1,995 RBIs. Despite his shortened career, he ranks 25th all-time in homers, fifth in RBIs and third in slugging and OPS.

The Rest of the Story

On July 4, 1939, the Yankees held “Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day,” in which he became the first player in the major leagues to have his number retired. Between games of a double-header, former teammates and dignitaries honored Gehrig with speeches and gifts.

Gehrig then addressed the crowd: “For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth … I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

Gehrig remained with the team to carry out the lineup card for the remainder of the Yankees’ World Series-winning season. After the season, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame…

On June 2, 1941, Lou Gehrig died in his Bronx home. Flags were flown at half-staff in New York and ballparks across the country …

Happy Birthday to Lou! You’ll be remembered.