Dispensary Corner

FORGET d nicotine replacement therapy or pharmaceutical solutions to help people stop smoking - a Japanese company is offering an extra week’s holiday to its non-smoking staff members.

A spokesperson for the marketing firm called Piala said the offer has proved extremely popular among the 120 staff, with the policy introduced as a benefit for non-smokers to compensate for smoking breaks taken by colleagues.

About two thirds of the company’s staff do not smoke, and that figure is now set to increase, the spokesman said.

Z you right-handed or left-handed, right-footed or left-footed or do you dress left or right͍

As animals go, we are not too different to our flying buzzing honey-producing relatives.

Apparently honey bees also care about which way to go when confronted with a decision to go left or right around an obstacle, according to researchers from the Brain Institute at the University of Yueensland.

About 55% of bees were impartial, while of the remaining 45%, about half were left-biased and half were right-biased.

Researchers postulate the apparent left- or right-handedness could contribute to the efficiency of moving in swarms and have potential applications in guiding the steering of a fleet of drone aircraft.

Visit uq.edu.au for the buzz.