Consumer Confidential: Bad smokes, bad treats, bad cellphone habits

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Here’s your MLK Monday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--What took ‘em so long? The Food and Drug Administration says it will finally require tobacco companies to specify what they put in cigarettes. The FDA will keep much of that info under wraps to protect trade secrets -- you wouldn’t want all your poisons being publicized, after all. But it will publish a list of potentially harmful ingredients by June 2011. Yeah, you wouldn’t want to rush with something that trivial.

--Speaking of the FDA, the agency has warned pet owners not to give dogs Merrick Beef Filet Squares that have a ‘best by’ date of ‘111911’ because there’s a risk of salmonella contamination. The warning follows routine tests last month revealing salmonella in some packages. A follow-up test found problems in the manufacturing and packaging processes. More info is available at the FDA’s website.

--And here’s another safety tip: Our friends at the New York Times report that walking while talking on a cellphone can be hazardous to your health. More than 1,000 pedestrians visited emergency rooms in 2008 because they tripped, fell or bumped into something while using a cellphone -- twice the number from a year earlier. Maybe we should all just stick to chewing gum while we walk.

-- David Lazarus