Fall is not just sweater weather – it is also the right time to lift your skilled game.

October is filled with dynamic events for Black women designed to support growth, spark creativity, and construct networks that really matter. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a seasoned corporate skilled, or a creative powerhouse, these events provide you with the prospect to attach with like-minded women, learn from industry leaders, and gain tools to aid you navigate the world of business.

Here are among the events value keeping an eye fixed out for in October.

BLK Pod Festival – Atlanta, Georgia | September 30 – October 1, 2024

The BLK Pod Festival is tailored to the needs of Black creators within the podcast industry. This two-day event features over 120 speakers who cover all the things from making a profitable podcast to marketing strategies and monetization techniques. It’s the right space to attach with other audio creators and share best practices that may aid you turn your passion right into a thriving business.

CultureCon – Brooklyn, New York | October 5-6, 2024

CultureCon is the last word intersection of creativity, culture and skilled development. A favourite event amongst Black creatives, this two-day conference features workshops, networking sessions, and keynote addresses from among the most influential voices in business and media. With topics starting from “How to Make a Career Change” and “Finance and Investing Tips,” this yr’s event guarantees to be a dynamic experience for professionals from every industry.

Black Founders Summit – Little Rock, AR | October 10, 2024

For Black Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship Black Founders Summit it is a must-attend event. The goal of this summit is to empower people through workshops, panel discussions, and pitch competitions that highlight the unique experiences and challenges facing Black entrepreneurs. If you need to connect with like-minded founders and investors, that is where you’ll want to be.

Black Journey Summit – Fort Lauderdale, Florida | October 10-13, 2024

If you’re obsessed with the travel industry or simply love discovering latest cultures, this one Black Travel Summit it’s the right combination of business and leisure. The goal of this summit is to empower Black travel professionals through networking events, panels and immersive travel experiences. From the rooftop pool party to the Black Travel Awards, that is the right place for each skilled development and private enjoyment.

Chicago Mixer Black Professional Network – Chicago, IL | October 14, 2024

If you are looking for a more intimate setting where you’ll be able to connect with other like-minded professionals, look no further Chicago mixer by Black Professional Network. This evening event, organized in one in every of the trendiest places within the Windy City, goals to ascertain real connections in a nice atmosphere. From casual conversations to potential collaborations, Chicago Mixer is ideal for those that need to construct relationships that transcend business.

Mass Black Expo – Boston, MA | October 25-26, 2024

Massachusetts Black Exhibition is an annual event that brings together Black-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and professionals from across the state. It is a possibility to ascertain contacts, study resources that increase your potential and present your organization to a wider audience. This two-day exhibition also features panel discussions and workshops focused on economic empowerment and navigating Boston’s skilled landscape.

If you have ever had the chance to go to the dentist and be treated by a talented doctor who looks such as you, consider yourself lucky. According to research published in 2020 by American Dental Associationonly 3.8 percent of dentists within the United States are black. The opportunity to go to a dentist of an identical background may also help alleviate the common fears and discomforts that many individuals feel about dental examinations, and most of all, it is time for a change.

Rapper Common helps with this. The Oscar winner is collaborating with a mouthwash brand Listerinewhich has just released its second installment Whoa Collectioncooperation with the creative agency Compound. This 12 months’s edition includes recent colourful bottle packaging illustrations by artists Frank Morrison and Hebru Brantley. Limited edition bottles, available at Targetaim to lift awareness of efforts to supply greater representation in dentistry. There may also be a documentary film by Set Free Richardson Mixtureshedding light on Listerine’s work to cut back this diversity gap. In addition, the brand is donating $150,000 to the inspiration Increasing diversity within the dental pipeline programa nonprofit organization that helps minority elementary school students get what they need, from test prep help to scholarships and more, to satisfy their dreams.

To help with this endeavor, Common has released a brand new, specially created track titled “The art of freshness” that seems like a classic song from the Grammy winner, while also sending a crucial message in regards to the opportunity to see black faces in essential spaces.

During an event at The Compound in Brooklyn on Thursday, September 26, where the song was originally recorded, ESSENCE caught up with Common to learn more about why he was involved with the show, the ability of representation in his life, and in his own life. family and what makes his smile bright – from his dental habits to his form of self-care.

ESSENCE: First, I even have to ask, are you blessed to have a black dentist?

Common: Yes, I’m grateful to have it. I’m very grateful since it’s about having others take care of you, especially someone in your community. It’s a certain kind of understanding and faith and trust that you have got and security. This is one of the problems we would like to spotlight with IDID. I used to be inspired to participate on this campaign since it goals to create more opportunities for black dentists. And I believe that throughout history, we as Black people have felt more confident in reaching out to our own people. In some ways I still use white doctors and non-white doctors, but at the top of the day it’s great to have a black dentist and I believe there must be more of them.

Yes, of course. You’ve already mentioned this, but I desired to ask you from myself: what made you support this initiative to diversify dentistry? Because I do know you have got your foundation, Dream freelyand it’s all about education, opportunity, work and well-being, and that is kind of an amalgamation of what this whole initiative is about. So are you able to dig into this slightly bit more?

Well, I mean, wellness is something that I desired to offer to our communities. The more I learned about it myself, the more I not only lived it and tried to be an example, but I incorporated certain elements into my music. I wrote that I discussed it and it’s something that I would love to lift awareness of and for people to see without making it trivial or simply making it a natural way of life that should be uplifted in our communities because well-being keeps us alive alive . We are in a happier place because of this. It allows us to deal with difficult situations.

The well-being that comes from access to therapy and meditation is like feeling good. You took a while to walk or exercise; all of them work to construct our wholeness, and oral hygiene is a component of that. So once I was approached about this, knowing that it was geared toward Black people for healthier oral health care, I assumed it was essential for me to be a component of it as well since it’s part of the entire picture. That’s one of the things I’ve learned because it involves my development and growing up. It was like, OK, you possibly can’t just be good at maintaining a healthy diet and then not have emotional health, not work at it, and even physical health, not proceed your spirituality. All the weather are needed to get to your full, higher self. I’m definitely completely satisfied to incorporate oral hygiene on this.

How did this effort encourage your song “The Art of Freshness”? I do know what I liked about it’s that although it was created to foster awareness of this work, it still seems like an organic Common track. Gives me Common about . How did it encourage you?

Sometimes it’s nice to create something for a totally different entity. This just isn’t my album, this just isn’t my single that I released as part of the album. So that is great since you say, OK, how do I approach this? It stretches you. And so I used to be inspired to do it. Writing around Fresh was awesome for me because Set Free, who produced the song, was like, “Hey, this music is inspired by Whoa Collection”, Listerine bottles designed by Chicago resident Hebru Brantley and Frank Morrison. So I assumed, oh, I could discuss what freshness is and discuss it from different features. Not only one thing. Dental hygiene is one thing, but staying fresh is how you’re feeling about yourself. It’s the way in which you carry yourself. It’s the way you take care of certain situations. So I wanted to offer it. Sometimes we want theme songs that you just walk around and you possibly can say something, and that is an affirmation.

Love it. What does representation mean to you? For example, you are one of the few MCs to win an Oscar; a really limited number, possibly three of you in total. So what does representation mean to you when you consider all of the work that you just’re doing to diversify dentistry and how essential it’s, as you said earlier, to have our people in these essential roles and spaces?

Representation is incredibly essential. And it was seeing representation in the shape of Muhammad Ali and Maya Angelou that made me realize that I could do something. And it was even a gathering with my teacher, Mr. Brown, a black man who guided me. It was a representation for me, having a black teacher who taught me as a young black man and boy about what this was. So that representation and seeing that influenced my vision of myself. And I all the time say, man, President Barack Obama, not only was he just this beautiful president and did all the pieces in his power to make this country and the world a greater place, but just having representation within the White House modified quite a bit of young people’s visions of themselves. . Heck, even people from our generation and older probably thought, “Wow, I can achieve anything.” We have a black president and we hope to have our first black president.

Speaking of representation and examples of it, your daughter is a lawyer. How proud are you of the trouble she’s put in to get thus far and have the option to represent people and impact other people’s lives?

I’m extremely proud. I’m very proud of her for focusing on this and considering for herself at first of primary school, within the fifth or sixth grade. She replied, “I want to become a lawyer.” And the proven fact that she wished it and achieved it’s only a testament to what is feasible. Watching her make this effort and undergo the ups and downs also shows me her character and determination. I’m proud of her and completely satisfied for her. She finds areas where she will be able to make a big effect on things which can be larger than herself. That’s what I needed to do in music.

Besides taking Listerine and visiting the dentist, what practices do you might want to follow to make sure that your teeth and smile stay healthy in any respect times?

Well, I believe flossing is unquestionably something I learned from my dentist, and now I even have one of the water picks. This thing is useful. But one of the keys to this was flossing and also ensuring I brushed consistently. I believe one of crucial keys to a smile is your heart. Just like who you’re inside. You can see it in your smile, in your eyes, in your laugh and all this stuff. These are some of the things I do most frequently.

Final query: Also, since we talked about good health, what are some practices and things in your life that put a smile on your face?

This doesn’t fall into the wellness category, but I believe it’s wellness since it’s about emotional health. I really like going to the cinema and eating popcorn. I really like popcorn.

My testicles are killing me!

My testicles are killing me, however it’s value it to me. That’s why I even have a water flosser. So that is one of the things I enjoy. I really like watching or playing basketball. I really like listening to great music. I also love just going out to dinner with my family members. These are some of my favorite things to do.

For more information in regards to the Whoa Collection and the Increasing Diversity in Dentistry program, please visit: listerine.com/whoacollection.

From today, October 1stlatest changes to Australia’s vaping product laws should make it easier for adults to make use of low-dose nicotine vapes as a smoking cessation tool.

Pharmacists will be in a position to supply vaporizers containing as much as 2% nicotine without a prescription after consulting the patient.

People under 18 will still need a prescription to access a vape pen, while anyone searching for a vape pen with a higher dose of nicotine will still need a prescription.

So how did we get here? Will these changes make it easier for people to access nicotine vaporizers to assist them quit smoking?

Various changes to regulations regarding vaporization

Evidence suggests that vape pens containing a can of nicotine help people quit smokingand may be simpler than other nicotine alternative therapies. For individuals who have not had success with other methods, using vaporizers quit smoking may be a reasonable choice to try.

Vaping is actually not without risks. However, vaporizers emit distant lower levels of harmful chemicals in comparison with cigarettes, so the health risks from vaping are likely much lower than from smoking.

Since 2012, Australians have had this he needed a prescription to access nicotine-containing vapes, while in most of Australia, non-nicotine-containing vapes could be sold on the identical terms as tobacco products.

However, many vaporizers sold under the guise of being nicotine-free contained undeclared nicotine. Not many Australians received a prescriptioneven in the event you use vaporizers to quit smoking.

Encouraged by reports of a rapid increase in vaping amongst young people, Health Secretary Mark Butler launched a series of changes to federal regulations aimed toward: displacing recreational vaping.

These reforms began in 2024 with a total ban on the import of single-use vaping products from January 1. As of March 1, retailers resembling tobacco shops were allowed to deplete existing vape supplies but could not legally restock. Individuals could not import vaporizers for private use, even in the event that they had a prescription.

ON July 1stfurther changes banned general retail sales of vaporizers no matter nicotine content. Only pharmacies could supply prescription vaporizers for therapeutic purposes.

From July 1, there have been also changes within the kinds of vaporizers available in pharmacies – all flavored vaporizers apart from tobacco, mint and menthol were banned. The idea is that these vaping products will be less attractive to young people.

Effective today, changes in federal regulations allow pharmacists to supply low-dose nicotine vape pens without a prescription.

There may be some barriers

The changes launched today aim to balance adults’ access to vaporizers for therapeutic purposes with the necessity to protect young people from taking on vaping by maintaining medical supervision of the supply. Eliminating the prescription requirement for some patients must also unencumber GP time and reduce costs.

People who’re heavily depending on nicotine, resembling heavy smokers, may need a larger dose of nicotine to effectively relieve withdrawal symptoms after quitting smoking. The 2% limit for over-the-counter sales corresponds to concentration limits imposed in another countries, e.g United Kingdom.

Another advantage of the change is that it’s consistent with the federal government’s intentions not punishing individual people for using vaporizers. Unauthorized possession of a prescription drug is a serious offense that can lead to significant fines and financial penalties prison conditions in some jurisdictions. Concerns have been raised about whether that is probably the most appropriate classification for vaporizers when cigarettes remain widely available without similar restrictions and penalties.

However, patients who wish to purchase vaporizers directly from a pharmacy may still face some barriers. Many pharmacists disagreed with removing the prescription requirement for several reasons.

Firstly, an amendment to abolish the prescription requirement has been announced without formal public consultation process and with a very short implementation time (about three months).

Although pharmacists have been providing prescription vaporizers for a while, the first responsibility rests with the prescribing physician. Some pharmacists are like that expressed concern on whether their skilled liability insurance will cover over-the-counter delivery as vaporizers are not approved as medicines. Others may object to providing vaporizers because they see it as selling cigarettes.

Some pharmacies also struggle with practical issues, resembling having enough staff and personal space to supply appropriate counseling. Under latest lawsthe pharmacist must seek the advice of with the patient to verify that the vape is clinically appropriate before delivery and to acquire approval to supply a product that is not an approved medicine.

Given these concerns, some pharmacies may resolve to proceed providing vaporizers only to adults with a prescription. Others may also select not to store vaporizers.

There may also be differences in access across the country as states and territories may impose further restrictions. For example, the Parliament of Tasmania considering the bill which, if passed, would maintain current restrictions on the supply of vaporizers in Tasmania (prescription required for adults and supply banned for under 18s).

Meanwhile, Western Australia announced that it’ll also maintain the present prescription requirement. Other states may follow suit, too.

Nicotine vaporizers are one among several options

Vapey is one among a range of smoking cessation products available over-the-counter from pharmacies, including nicotine patches, mouth sprays, gums and lozenges.

From today, a latest option, the so-called cytisinea non-nicotine smoking cessation drug may also be available without prescription in some pharmacies.

Therefore, people searching for support in quitting smoking should consult with their pharmacist or Resignation line in regards to the full range of options available to search out the very best one for you.