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» May 2010 Archives
Update: Health Canada OKs pre-mixed alcohol and caffeine drinks
Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 3:14 PM    2
A follow up to our post last November on popular nightclub drinks that contain alcohol and caffeine: Health Canada has now approved the sale of these products beverages with caffeine -- as long as the caffeine is from a natural source, like coffee, guarana or tea.

So pre-mixed cans of rum and coke are fine under the Food and Drug Act, as the caffeine in the mix is derived naturally from cola. However, pre-mixed cans of energy drinks (which contain additives like caffeine, taurine and vitamins) with alcohol continue to not be approved for sale by Health Canada
Do you know what the radiation level is for your cellphone?
Monday, May 17, 2010, 1:43 PM    18
Can cellphone use cause brain tumours? The science around the safety of cellphones continues to be hotly debated -- and the question of whether cellphone use causes brain tumours remains unsettled, even after the results of a major study on almost 13,000 cellphone users over 10 years.
 
There are about 23 million cellphone subscribers in Canada, but not many know that radio frequency energy, a type of radiation, is absorbed by the body when the phone is being used. It takes a bit of digging, but you can find your phone's radiation level in the manual, or online. It's called the SAR rate.
Is your computer password literally 'Password'?
Friday, May 14, 2010, 2:05 PM    7
As Marketplace's web producer, and like many Canadians, I spend a lot of my time online. Whether it's on a piece of software, an email account, or a social media website like Facebook or Twitter -- most computer-based tools require you to register, and log in regularly with a password.

But how strong is your password? We hear many stories about online identity theft and scams -- and we've produced a number of stories about this issue as a result. The latest issue of Consumer Reports features a story about how a criminal broke into a Facebook account and used it to plead for money and attempt to con that user's friends.
Will calorie menu info ward off the Freshman 15?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 11:38 AM    3
menu_calories_190.jpgStudents at the University of Waterloo will soon be able to compare the calorie content of their vegetable burger to the ko pao chicken with a quick glance at the cafeteria menu.

The Canadian Cancer Society is funding a two-year study at UWaterloo to find out whether mandating nutritional information on menus helps consumers make better food choices.
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