Coke Channels Its Inner Monster Stoked and coked. The coca in Coca Cola was cocaine until 1929. Now the corporate giant has bought about of fifth of Monster Energy Drinks for $2.15 billion, hoping to further caffeinate its products and profits – and us. Why Did Coke Buy Monster? Money. The energy drink “niche” is […]
Zee Drugs (8/18/14)
Zee Story The back of the alphabet is pushing for primacy. The masked avenger Zorro appeared in 1919; the remarkably popular Z cars television crime series transfixed Britain in the 1960s. Now is era of Z drugs. Zolpidem, zaleplon, and eszopiclone – respectively named for the commercially minded ambien, sonata and lunesta – are today’s […]
Can We Regulate Food Like Tobacco? (7/7/14)
Obesity and Health Many groups, like the Consumers International and the World Obesity Federation, argue food should be regulated as strictly as tobacco. Their claim (BBC News, May 18th) is that deaths from obesity are rising rapidly – about 30% globally from 2005-2010 – and that obesity promotes so many chronic diseases – from diabetes […]
Diet Desperation (6/30/14)
Will Raspberries and Seaweed Provide a Miracle? People around the world are desperate to lose weight. So desperate they do – and say – sometimes crazy things. And that’s bad news. Obesity is major factor of the health crisis in America, but only one part. And diet is just one factor among many, many, that […]
Fighting Families Fall Ill (5/19/14)
The Family That Stays Together… The “classic” film “Bonnie and Clyde” nearly did not get made. Film producers at Warner Brothers could not understand why they should unleash onto the public a movie whose romantic leads’ (Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway) main occupation was ultraviolently killing bank managers and police. Warren Beatty saved the […]