After successfully derailing discussion of a federal tax on soft drinks last year the major bottlers are facing a new battle at the state level, where legislators from New York and California are determined to tax sweetened beverages.
The industry spent at least $18 million on lobbying and millions more in campaign donations to key officials to impede progress on taxing soft drinks as a means of helping fund a federal healthcare overhaul. The industry also partnered with community and minority groups to oppose a federal tax, based on the argument that a tax on sodas would disproportionately affect poor people.
Breast cancer patients often complement their medical treatment with alternative and complementary therapies. Biological-based therapies such as diet supplements and vitamins are the most popular followed by a variety of mind-body therapies, according to a Michigan State University researcher working to create a decision support program for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer and those recovering from surgery.
New research reveals the effects of acupuncture on the brain and could potentially provide an understanding of the complex mechanisms involved. Neuroscientists at the University of York and the Hull York Medical School in Great Britain showed acupuncture works by stimulating nerve structures in a study published in Brain Research. The study may help acupuncture gain wider acceptability in the West, where medical professionals have been slow to adopt it into modern health care.
