'Relaxation' Sodas Promise to 'Slow Your Roll'

Mayor to city's poor: Drop weight

(NEWSER) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to add sodas to the list of items New York City's 1.7 million food stamp users can't buy with the stamps. The mayor, as part of an aggressive anti-obesity campaign, has asked federal authorities for permission to ban food-stamp purchases of sugared drinks, the New York Times reports. "This initiative will give New York families more money to spend on foods and drinks that provide real nourishment," the mayor announced. More»

Kentucky man uses 'caffeine intoxication' defense

(NEWSER) - A Kentucky man charged with killing his wife has come up with a creative defense: excessive caffeination. Woody Will Smith, 33, is accused of strangling his 28-year-old wife with an extension cord last May, but his lawyer says Smith ingested enough caffeine (in the form of soda, energy drinks, and diet pills) to render him temporarily insane in the days before the murder. More»

Americans ditch healthy drinks for cheap sweets

(NEWSER) - Recession-strapped Americans threw away their healthy (and expensive) drinks and reached for good old Coke and Pepsi, Time magazine reports. Soda sales jumped 2.5% in 2009—the first bump in 5 years—while milk, yogurt, fruit, and vegetable drinks all fell. "People stopped drinking the more expensive stuff and kept drinking soda because soda isn't that expensive," says an industry analyst. More»

Lack of info makes it tough to reduce consumption

(NEWSER) - The popularity of ice creams, yogurts, and even jelly beans with high caffeine levels is causing experts to call for labels listing how much a product contains. Manufacturers aren't currently required to disclose caffeine levels, and advocates for stricter labeling say this makes it difficult for people to cut back on caffeine and for pregnant women to adhere to the FDA's recommended maximum. More»

(NEWSER) - A combination of penny-pinching and environmental concern has pushed bottled water sales off for the first time in at least 5 years, the Washington Post reports. In 2008, consumption of bottled water fell for the first time this decade. “It's an obvious way to cut back,” a researcher says. “People might still be buying bottled water, but you can bet that they're refilling those bottles.” More»