Hey, did you totally buy the hype that Airborne could keep you from getting sick on a plane? Turns out it can't. And a non-profit group that sued the makers of the vitamin supplement wants you to get in on a $23.3 million settlement.
The Center for Science in the Public interest put out a release yesterday with its findings:
"There's no credible evidence that what's in Airborne can prevent colds or protect you from a germy environment," said CSPI senior nutritionist David Schardt, who reviewed Airborne's claims. "Airborne is basically an overpriced, run-of-the-mill vitamin pill that's been cleverly, but deceptively, marketed."
We never really bought the bogus health claims, but we did pick up a couple samples when we saw 'em in JFK once. (No harm in giving the stuff a go, right?) As for Airborne, after dolling out this cash, will the company be able to afford a Sundance swag lounge next year?
You didn't fly from Bangkok to Melbourne on July 2, did you? If so, Australian health authorities are looking for you, after a Pakistani guy from that flight came down with symptoms of polio. FYI, polio's pretty much non-existent these days, appearing only in a few spots like India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
Until now. It's the first time that the polio virus has been seen Down Under in 21 years (so it's kind of amazing that doctors recognized it) and officials say that the man, who took Thai Airways flight TG999 from Pakistan via Bangkok, only presented symptoms after the flight, so the risk of others being affected is pretty low. But get checked out if you're in any doubt.
A man with a drug-resistant disease gets on two transatlantic flights in a matter of weeks, exposing unwitting passengers to his possibly deadly germs. It's summer blockbuster season! Unfortunately, that tale doesn't start Clive Owen or Nicholas Cage, but rather one Andrew Speaker, currently being held in federal quarantine in Denver with nasty cases of tuberculosis and hubris both.
Speaker knew he had tuberculosis when he was taking off to Italy for his destination wedding and honeymoon last month; when tests showed he had XDR TB, a contagious form of the classic invalid's bug, the U.S. forbade him to fly back commercially for fear he would infect fellow passengers, according to Reuters. Speaker and his wife defied those orders and flew back through Canada, then rented a car and drove back to the U.S.
Speaker claims he was told by doctors that he shouldn't fly, but was never legally prohibited from doing so (even though doctors still haven't identified where he might have caught XDR-TB from). Ironically, his new father-in-law works for the CDC, even while Speaker is blaming the agency for giving him incomplete information. Welcome to the family, son.
Travelers to high altitude areas of South America are always being warned to take care of their health when they get up high, and are always whining for months about their ill-health when they come back. And the risks at altitude are nothing to be ignored--you might remember the guy who didn't make it back from Tibet on the new railroad, a victim of altitude sickness.
So let's say you're up in the mountains of Bolivia, or more specifically in the town of Potosi, over 13,000 feet above sea level. Should you be prepared to play a game of soccer? The answer's a very strong no, according to Brazilian team Flamengo who reckon that "allowing teams to play at high altitude was a form of doping."
Of course, it wouldn't be anything to do with the fact that they didn't win the game (to their credit, perhaps, they did manage a draw). Flamengo is refusing to play again under such circumstances. Perhaps they just wanted to head home fast for Carnival.
For some reason, we find this online demo for Nozin Nasal Sanitizer utterly enchanting (for the record, it also reminds us of every voice we've ever heard on an airport monorail). But who's more hypnotizing: the Nozin lady or Charles Ogilvie? It's a tough call, but they can both read us a story or two anytime they want.
Nozin is like Airborne in that it claims to help you not get sick, rather than treat you once you are sick. It's a sanitizer specifically for your nose, and even comes in a convenient one-time use travel size. We're no doctors, but we do play one online. Though we're not sure of the medical validity of this product, it certainly tugs at us. You, too, must know how many gross germs lurk and are basically unavoidable on airplanes.
Airborne, the effervescent, placebo tablet that makes us think we won't get sick if we pop it in a glass of water before we take off, is returning to the Sundance Film Festival with the Airborne Lounge.
Airborne and the gossip show Extra! will be holding down fort at the Harry O's complex in Park City on 427 Main Street, where celebs will no doubt gather for a complimentary cup of tea, water and an Airborne beverage. Um...right.
But give credit where credit is due. While Airborne will not be serving any bubbly drinks aside from their own, they are trying hard to create a party atmosphere.
Guests at the Airborne Lounge will experience a bubbly atmosphere. From the lighting to bubble walls, the entire bar will have a healthy, effervescent glow to help create an inviting environment. A newly added element to the Lounge, the "ON-AIRborne" video confessional will allow both celebrities and festival attendees to tape their favorite anecdotes and memories about using and sharing Airborne.
Now, those confessionals we might pay to see. Hopefully it won't look anything like Britney Spears' hack job of selling her own perfume.
You'd think that if airlines were concerned about radioactivity on their planes, they'd get rid of the coach-class food STAT. You know every lake gets a three-eyed Simpsons fish each time a rubbery ham sandwich flies over it. But they haven't looked at the problem until now, as the death-by-polonium of Alexander Litvinenko continues to spark fear in London and beyond. British Home Secretary John Reid says the risk to public health is low.
After Litvinenko's death, radiation has been found in at least twelve places around Britain, including the Itsu sushi restaurant, the Millennium Hotel, and a Sheraton--all in London. Authorities expect to find more hotspots. Two British Airways planes have been grounded, and a third, belonging to Russian airline Transaero, has been inspected. BA is directing passengers affected by the contaminated aircraft (around 33,000) to a special hotline, while Transaero says its plane has been cleared. A fourth jet, also Russian, is currently being tested.
Remember the first time you saw a magnified picture of a bed bug? And right under it was some blurb about how they're all around you and you're powerless against them? Time for a reprise of sorts. Janice Lieberman from the Today Show went in search of travel germs and, yup, she found plenty of them.
First stop: the electronic check-in kiosk--plenty of mold and bacteria there. If you're prone to rashes and allergies wipe it down, she says. Next up: the security line. Apparently, if you take your shoes off for screening and walk around barefoot, that'll be a problem--so basically, don't be Britney Spears. On the plane, Lieberman and her team found filtration systems to be inadequate.
And at hotels (both budget and higher-end)...well, you know how that goes. Cooties galore. "If the room doesn't smell fresh," they say, find another one. But what if they just Febreezed it like we do to our laundry?
How about "what you don't know can't hurt you?" There's always bleach for backup.
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