New York City may ban large soft drinks

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is proposing a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks in the city’s restaurants, delis and movie theaters in the hopes of combating obesity — an expansion of his administration’s efforts to encourage healthy behavior by limiting residents’ choices.
The proposal — expected to be announced formally on Thursday in a City Hall briefing — would take 20-ounce soda bottles off the shelves of the city’s delis and eliminate super-sized sugary soft drinks from fast-food menus. It is the latest health effort by the administration to spark accusations that the city’s officials are overstepping into matters that should be left in the hands of individual consumers.
“There they go again,” said Stefan Friedman, spokesman for the New York City Beverage Association, who called the proposal “zealous” in a statement. “The New York City Health Department’s unhealthy obsession with attacking soft drinks is again pushing them over the top. The city is not going to address the obesity issue by attacking soda because soda is not driving the obesity rates.”
But City Hall officials, citing a 2006 study, argue that sugary drinks are the largest driver of rising calorie consumption and obesity. They note that sweet drinks are linked to long-term weight gain and increased rates of diabetes and heart disease.
The administration’s proposal would impose a 16-ounce limit on the size of sugary drinks sold at food service establishments, including restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and street carts. It would apply to bottled drinks as well as fountain sodas.
The ban would apply only to drinks that contain more than 25 calories per 8 ounces. It would not apply to diet soda or any other calorie-free drink. Any drink that is at least half milk or milk substitute would be exempted.
The ban, which could take effect as soon as March, would not apply to drinks sold in grocery or convenience stores that don’t serve prepared food. Establishments that don’t downsize would face fines of $200 after a three-month grace period.

Via newsday.com.

Sugar is a mind altering drug. To give it up, it helped me to understand what is really going on with the cravings:

… a new study shows that sugar… shares an important addicting feature with substances like nicotine or heroin.

Many addictive substances initially make you feel good by releasing (or blocking reuptake of) substances in the brain that trigger pleasure, euphoria, focus, or energy. But your brain and body are not necessarily interested in sustaining your bliss. They are motivated to keep your systems steady and avoid extremes. Thanks to this drive for homeostasis, your brain and body learn to adapt to the effects of mood- and mind-altering substances.

For example, if a substance would normally trigger a flood of serotonin, your brain may adapt by reducing receptors for this neurotransmitter, or producing less serotonin. And when your brain expects that you are going to take the substance, it may swing in the opposite direction (reduced availability of serotonin) to counteract the expected effects of the drug. This anticipatory drop can create powerful cravings for the substance.

Through this process of adaptation, the addiction cycle is strengthened, and the addict needs the drug just to feel normal. Now it looks like the same process may be happening-at some level-with sugar.

Researchers at the National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Japan were curious how the brain and body might adapt to the expectation of eating something sweet (1). They found that when mice expect a sweet treat, their brains release a chemical called orexin. Orexin triggers the body’s muscles to take up whatever sugar is circulating in the bloodstream. In this way, the body is preparing for an expected increase in blood sugar levels. This is a great adaptation if you eat the food, helping to keep blood sugar levels steady.

But what if you decide you want to resist the temptation of the sweets? Then the drop of blood sugar comes with two very unwanted side effects: cravings to eat, and decreased energy to resist. The result? It’s much harder to say no, and you may even need to eat to feel normal. Much like the cigarette addict who needs to smoke, or the pain medication addict who needs to take a pill, just to feel normal.

Via psychologytoday.com

Wayne Carter Threw Intestines At Officers After Stabbing Himself, Police Say

A New Jersey man allegedly cut out his entrails in front of police and then threw bits of his flesh and intestines at them.

The gruesome scene played out at a home in Hackensack, N.J., where 43-year-old Wayne Carter allegedly barricaded himself in on Sunday, NBC New York reported.

Officers got a call that morning when a witness said Carter was threatening to harm himself with a knife. Two cops responded, kicked in the door and found Carter in the corner, the station reported.

Carter allegedly ignored officers’ orders to put down the knife, and instead began stabbing himself in the abdomen, neck and legs.

An attempt to pepper spray the bleeding man had no effect, the Associated Press reported.

That’s when Carter — disemboweled but responsive — reportedly threw bits of his skin and intestines at the officers.

They decided to retreat and call in the Bergen County SWAT team, Hackensack police Lt. John Heinemann told reporters. The team was able to subdue Carter and get him to a hospital, where he remained in critical condition on Monday.

Heinemann said he believes that drugs or mental illness may have led to the horrific incident, but those details haven’t been confirmed.

No charges have yet been filed due to the unusual nature of the incident.

via Wayne Carter Threw Intestines At Officers After Stabbing Himself, Police Say.

Another case of “bath salts”?

Miami’s ‘growling cannibal’ named as Rudy Eugene, 31

This combo made with undated photos made available by the Miami-Dade Police Dept. shows Rudy Eugene, 31, left, who police shot and killed as he ate the face of Ronald Poppo, 65, right, during a horrific attack in the shadow of the Miami Herald’s headquarters on Saturday, May 26, 2012. Poppo was in critical condition Tuesday, with only his goatee intact on his face, the newspaper reported. – seattlePI

 

A man who was shot dead in Miami at the weekend after he was found biting the face off another naked man has been identified by police.

Rudy Eugene, 31, reportedly growled at a police officer after he was warned to back away.

A witness said the aggressor continued to eat the victim, before the officer opened fire several times, killing him.

The attack next to a busy road on Saturday afternoon has been linked to a potent drug known as “bath salts”.

About 75% of the victim’s face was reportedly missing.

Cyclist Larry Vega said there was “blood all over the place” when he came across the horrific scene by MacArthur Causeway.

“I told him get off,” Mr Vega told WSVN Fox 7. “The guy just kept eating the other guy away like ripping his skin.”

He said he alerted a police officer, who warned the attacker several times to back away from the victim.

“The guy just stood his head up like that with a piece of flesh in his mouth and growled,” Mr Vega said.

The victim, identified as a 65-year-old homeless man, Ronald Poppo, remained in a critical condition in hospital on Tuesday.

A Miami police spokesman said: “We are expecting a report from our detectives to give more details to the media. We are also looking for more witnesses to this crime.”

Ives Eugene, Eugene’s uncle, described his nephew as a “nice and hard-working” man who washed cars at a local dealership.

Miami police said they still do not know what prompted the bizarre and savage assault, which has been compared to a “zombie” attack.

Armando Aguilar, of Miami’s Fraternal Order of Police, told the Associated Press: “He had his face eaten down to his goatee. The forehead was just bone. No nose, no mouth.”

Mr Aguilar told a CNN affiliate he believed the suspect could have taken a type of drug known as “bath salts”, citing four past overdoses in the Miami area where people had also removed their clothes and gone berserk.

“It causes them to go completely insane and become very violent,” he said.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, users of the drug have reported experiencing agitation, paranoia, hallucinations and elevated body temperature.

via BBC News – Miami’s ‘growling cannibal’ named as Rudy Eugene, 31.

 

… Bath salts are highly addictive and apparently elicit intense cravings similar to methamphetamines. They act on the brain like other stimulants, and are sometimes referred to as a “cocaine substitutes.” Also known as “White Rush, Cloud Nine, Ivory Wave, Ocean Snow, Charge Plus, White Lightning, Scarface, Hurricane Charlie, Red Dove, White Dove, and Sextasy,” their most common side effects are agitation, fast heart rate, and hallucinations and delusions, seizures, high blood pressure, and paranoia, according to the CDC. Deaths have also been linked to the drug.

“These substances are among the worst poison centers have ever seen,” said director of the Louisiana Poison Center, Mark Ryan. “The psychosis seen in some users is truly remarkable, in a very scary way. People high on these drugs have done some bizarre things to themselves and hurt others around them. It’s important that parents and young people understand just how dangerous these synthetic drugs are.”

Last fall, the Drug Enforcement Administration banned bath salts and their active ingredients, mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), and methylone. “This action demonstrates our commitment to keeping our streets safe from these and other new and emerging drugs that have decimated families, ruined lives, and caused havoc in communities across the country,” said Michele M. Leonhart, DEA Administrator. “These chemicals pose a direct and significant threat, regardless of how they are marketed, and we will aggressively pursue those who attempt their manufacture and sale.”

The drugs are generally snorted, taken by mouth, or injected. One recent CDC study found that the majority of 35 patients brought to the ER for overdose had injected the drug. The same report suggested that for the one person who died from it, that MDPV was the chemical most likely linked to the death. Many of patients also had other drugs, like cocaine, benzodiazepines, opiates, marijuana, or amphetamines, in their systems at the time.

Bath salts are sold at convenience stores, “head shops,” and gas stations, or may be purchased on the Internet. They are often mislabeled to avoid detection by officials, and their labels may read “Not Intended for Human Consumption,” according to the CDC.

The government has had a hard time keeping up with synthetic drugs, as has been seen with synthetic marijuana in recent years. Calls to poison control centers for synthetic drug-related emergencies have risen drastically over the last several years, according to the American Association for Poison Control Centers (AAPCC): In 2010, there were 3,200 calls to poison control, and this number rose to over 13,000 in 2011….

via Forbes