FTC Orders Hoodia Scammers to Turn Over Assets
The press release sez it all: …the Federal Trade Commission settled charges brought against three people and two companies for deceptively advertising a supposed weight-loss supplement ingredient. One defendant is banned from making any weight-loss claims related to foods, drugs, or dietary supplements and must turn over a vacation home and other assets to the FTC; another is banned from the dietary supplement business; and all...
“Death From a Bun”
I have to give Dr. Neil Barnard (of the vegan front group “Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine“) points for being a good sport here… He had to have known that The Daily Show would poke fun at him. But I guess he figured that all publicity is good publicity. The irony is that I actually share Dr. B’s distaste for hot dogs. But we come at this from two somewhat different directions. When I see a package...
Best Use of Jelly Beans Evah!
The video: How they did it: I’m indifferent to jelly beans and the song (they’re both a bit too sweet for me)… but the combination of the two is pretty cool. It’s a real work of art. (h/t Angry Asian...
Study: “Sugary Drink Facts”
A new study by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity reached the (obvious) conclusion that young people are still being bombarded by ads for sugary drinks, despite the beverage industry’s stated “commitment to responsible marketing.” The report’s executive summary is here. The full report can be downloaded here. A few facts cited in the report: … in 2010, teens saw 18 percent more TV ads for...
Happy Halloween!
Here’s an interesting little holiday data point for ye: According to Susan Whiteside, vice president of communications at the National Confectioner’s Association (NCA), confectionery sales for Halloween 2011 in the United States will be $2.3 billion — a new record. Indeed, despite these hard economic times, Halloween candy sales continue to rise by 1 to 3 percent each year. Divvying up the total among the U.S....
Cleveland Clinic Helps Employees Get Healthier
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: The Clinic offers yoga classes to employees and its on-campus gym is also free for workers. Use has risen from an average of 21,000 hours annually to more than 240,000 hours this year. Participation in Weight Watchers is also free and employees have lost about 250,000 pounds since 2005. But the changes in the Clinic’s self-insured health plan, which has seen the flattening of its health care costs, was...