Saturday, July 11, 2009

Bottled Water Myths


Most Americans prefer bottled water to tap water as they percieve it to be more safe and healthier, however the source of this perception related more with the marketing done by bottled water brands and not necessarily the hard facts. Just one basic measure of credibility explains what i mean here: Tap water is much better regulated than the bottled water industry, less regulation sometimes means less monitoring of quality, conformance to standards is not fully enforced by law and sometimes bottled water that is less below par flows through cracks of lose regulation.

This is has been a topic of discussion by health professionals and more recently the US Congress.

WASHINGTON — In 2008, Americans drank 8.6 billion gallons of bottled water, double the amount of a decade ago, with more than half saying they drink it because it is safer and healthier than tap water.

But at a hearing Wednesday, members of Congress were briefed on two new studies that question whether bottled water is safer than water directly from the faucet. Afterward, the committee sent letters to 13 companies requesting more information about the source of their water and how it is tested.

“Neither the public nor federal regulators know nearly enough about where bottled water comes from and what safeguards are in place to ensure its safety,” Read the Full Article

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Firm Pushed Drug It Knew Didn't Work


U.S. Health care is in a sad state. We have too many bogus drugs that our health watch dog turns a blind eye to, too many patients deprived of health care because they can not afford insurance and too many cases of clear consumer frawd.

Many patients are being taken for a ride by the big pharma giants trying to make quick bucks. Whats more startling is that the bigger the name involved, the more serious is the nature of consumer abuse perpetrated by the company.

A recent case is that of an antipshycotic drug Zyprexa. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly marketed it knowing it didnt work. Infact, Zyprexa was their best selling drug in 2008. Health insurers and States are suing Eli Lilly for the above.

Read the full article here