Three-Decades-Old Law Could Require Coffee To Come With A Warning Label
Businesses must warn about the presence of any of about 900 chemicals — one of which is in coffee — under the law, known as Proposition 65. A court is expected to rule sometime in the coming months.
The Wall Street Journal:
In California, Where Cancer Warnings Abound, Coffee Is Next In Line
A California court case could turn every cup of coffee here into a jolt of reality on the risks of cancer. Under a state law, cancer warnings already follow Californians when they enter the lobby of apartment buildings, drive into parking garages and sit down at restaurants. They also pop up on products including kitty litter, ceramic plates and black licorice. (Randazzo, 1/24)
In other public health news —
NPR:
Will States Continue To Fund Stem Cell Research?
The year was 2004, and according to certain TV ads in California, great medical breakthroughs might be just around the corner. In these political ads, celebrities Michael J. Fox and Christopher Reeve, both facing serious, chronic conditions, touted the promise of stem cell research, which they believed could lead to a plethora of cures for life-threatening diseases. (Gorn, 1/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Tobacco Giant Presses Its Case For A Better-For-You Cigarette
At a meeting this week outside Washington, the world's premier purveyor of cigarettes is trying to convince a panel convened by the Food and Drug Administration that its newest offering will be a boon to the nation's public health. Philip Morris and its U.S. partner, Altria, want the FDA's permission to sell a tobacco product it calls the IQOS system in the United States. (Healy, 1/25)