consumer-affairs

For more than a decade marketers of prepared foods have used “front of package” labeling to promote the supposed health benefits of their products to consumers. Today supermarket shelves are lined with items labeled “low in calories” or “better for you” aimed at children and their parents. As concerns have grown about childhood obesity, however, the veracity of these claims has come into question.

State and federal taxation of alcoholic beverages has long been a charged issue among voters. Claims of overly paternalistic policy on one side are met with arguments that alcohol taxes are a deterrent to antisocial behavior.

Energy drinks, once aimed exclusively at athletes, have become a significant force in the worldwide beverage market. They come in a dizzying variety of colors, often feature exotic ingredients — guarana, ginseng, and ginkgo biloba, to name just a few — and aren’t shy when it comes to health claims. Marketers’ efforts to rebrand such drinks as “nutrition beverages” have continued to spur sales growth, though this comes at a time when the content of the drinks is coming under increased scrutiny.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, nine million cribs have been recalled since September 2007 because of safety issues. While many studies have been conducted on the rate of infant mortalities which occurred in cribs, playpens and bassinets, until recently little was known about the non-fatal injuries.

In an increasingly digital economy, those who keep pace with technology will have an advantage in the job market, as the 21st century workforce draws more on tools such as file-sharing, video conferencing and social networking.

Retirement planning decisions are growing increasingly complex in America, and older workers are facing critical financial choices in the latter years of their professional lives. Making optimal choices, however, requires an increasing level of financial literacy and knowledge.

Over the past 50 years, many nations have legalized casino gambling. Thousands of casinos are now located worldwide, in nearly every populated region of the globe. The licensing of such businesses is sometimes a local or regional affair, but larger national and global patterns may also be discernible.

Prior to March 2011, parents in the United States were advised to keep their child’s car seat rear-facing at least until the child weighed 20 pounds and turned 1 year old, at which point the car seat might safely be turned around to face forward during travel. That prevailing guideline changed when the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a new recommendation that the position of car seats should be kept rear-facing until the child is 2 years old.

In the United States, the majority of retirement savings are invested in equity — shares in publicly traded companies.  Traditionally, high average returns have offset the inherent risks of investments in stocks, but that equation changed following the recent financial crisis. In the past three years, the value of equity has declined, growth has been sluggish and many forecasters have continued to predict low returns from stocks in the coming decade.

Between 1966 and 2003, the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup and glucose syrup through beverages increased more than 11-fold in the United States. Because soft drinks now account for almost 50% of the added sugars present in U.S. diets, understand the broad range of physiological impacts that these beverages have on their consumers is essential.