You know, sometimes I think people should be licensed for more than just driving or practicing a certain profession.
There ought to be a parenting class and licensure restriction. And a Meyers-Briggs type test before you can take on the responsibility for a dog or cat.
But more and more, I swear to God there needs to be a license for people to make decisions for themselves, particularly when it comes to their health:
A Russian woman who drank up to 5000 litres of Coca Cola has successfully sued the company for making her ill.
Natalya Kashuba, 27, the owner of an upmarket clothes shop, drank up to three litres of the soft drink every day for five years. She took legal action against the soft drinks giant after claiming that she had suffered insomnia and heartburn, reports the Telegraph.
Miss Kashuba said she had become addicted to the drink as a result of a promotional offer that allowed consumers to swap Coca Cola caps for prizes.
Dozens of inflatable mattresses and radios she won were used as key evidence in the case.
Sweet decaffinated sugar-free Jesus on a pogostick, people! At 27 years old, in this day and age, you have to be dumber than a stump to not know that artificial, processed foods are not good for you. Hell, at any age- the information is out there! But people who employ this sort of willful ignorance and scamming of money from a company to ameliorate bad personal choices is disgusting.
And I can’t decide what disgusts me more- that the Russian courts found in her favor, or that this sort of behavior and thinking is so rampant. If I think big picture, then I have to admit the underlying thought processes (or lackthereof!) that lead people to sue companies for their choices is more outrageous.
The death of common sense continues. On the other hand, I was glad to see the makers of 7-Up sued over their claims that tout 7UP as “100% natural”- even though it contains the highly unnatural ingredient of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
The company that makes the “uncola” is accused of telling an untruth in a new marketing campaign that touts 7UP as “100% natural.” The nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) will sue 7UP’s manufacturer, Cadbury Schweppes, unless the company drops the claim. Although the company removed several artificial ingredients from the drink, at least one remains: high fructose corn syrup.
“Pretending that soda made with high fructose corn syrup is ‘all natural,’ is just plain old deception,” said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “High fructose corn syrup isn’t something you could cook up from a bushel of corn in your kitchen, unless you happen to be equipped with centrifuges, hydroclones, ion-exchange columns, and buckets of enzymes.”
Oh yes, I happen to have all those devices, since Bayou likes to cook so much. NOT. Please, Cadbury-Schweppes, give me a break. I hope the CSPI takes you to the cleaners over this ridiculous claim, and makes the public aware -even though it should already be aware- that HFCS is baaaaad, mmmkay?
If the CSPI wins, karmic balance in the universe will be restored. Until, that is, the dangerous precedent set by the Russian courts rears its ugly head somewhere else.
Technorati Tags: health, Coca Cola, legal action, artificial, processed foods, 100% natural, CSPI, Cadbury Schweppes, high fructose corn syrup
I agree 100%. Its ridiclous that any idiot can go and harm themselves–sometimes on purpose–and then turn around a sue a company because they should have protected them.
Sweet decaffinated sugar-free Jesus on a pogostick…
Lach, that expression is utterly pricless!
During the last two months she was pregnant with me, my mother drank two 2 litres of Coca Cola a day.
I want to do a study on kids with ADD (the real kind, not the ‘oh, hell, he’s trouble, give him drugs kind) and their mother’s caffeine consumption.
Mary Sue, I imagine a study like yours would yield some startling results.
Glad you liked David! I try.
Kman, I know. I just want to scream when I read these sorts of things.
Perhaps we in the US tend to think that all over the world people are getting the same information as we are about all things bad.
I would venture to guess that over in Russia reports of the evils of soft drinks are not as wide spread as they are here. I don’t really know.
Also, here is a company giving people incentive to drink something they know is highly addictive. If caffine has been likened to heroin in its addictive powers, I’d say any company that makes such a thing has a certain sense of responsibility also.
I think it’s morally irresponsible for Coca Cola to sponsor any contest that invites people to consume more of its evil shit. It would be no different if a cigarette company had the same sort of contest.
I certainly agree that people should take personal responsibilty for their own choices, but Coca Cola should take personal responsibility for its choices too. Creating contests that invite people to drink more of your highly addictive product is not responsible.
Elizabeth, as always, your comments are erudite.
However, I disagree about our Russians friends having the equivalent of third world education- even when it comes to health. The Internet is a wide open tool, even there- this information is OUT THERE. They have to be willing to look for it and think.
I also disagree about the contest marketing- it’s capitalism at its finest, like it or not. What I think is reprehensible is Cadbury-Schewepes’ claim abnout all natural. My ass! Coke is not making that claim, and so far as I know, hasn’t. So it STILL falls back on the people to make the right choices, and as the obesity rates and heart disease rates (esp. in women) show, people are NOT. They are not informing themselves, skating on genetics (if they think they have them in their favor), and generally ignoring nutritional common sense.
It’s possible a 12-year old with no adult supervision in a very sheltered part of the world could believe that Coke is the new water. Theoretically. But I’ve never met that 12-year old. Not ever. Ditto for the 27-year old fashion (and likely figure/health) conscious woman who truly believed that.
And any adult who sues a soft-drink company over insomnia and heartburn? Is an effing opportunistic sociopath and a liar who’s making stuff up to score free money. Sleazy.
It’s ridiculous that this woman would sue Coca-Cola in the first place. But it’s not like she’s got, you know, cancer or something. Insomnia and heartburn? WTF-ever.