Love Stinks! – National Consumers League

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by NCL staff

A little while back, we blogged about a relatively new scam we’ve been tracking at NCL’s Fraud Center: the Sweetheart Swindle. We’ve been crunching numbers lately to look at the top scams of 2007, and we found something that’s really surprised us: despite the fact that NCL’s Fraud Center has only been tracking this type of scam since July 2007, it gained enough momentum in the second half of the year to move to the top 10 scam list. According to complaints logged at www.fraud.org, the average victim lost more than $3,038 last year to Sweetheart Swindles. However, the full extent of the fraud is unknown, given many victims’ reluctance to admit to being scammed.

Yikes!

Here’s one such sad story:

In April 2007, “Donna” cautiously ventured into the world of online dating. Within a week, she was contacted by a man with whom she began to chat. They chatted multiple times a day for seven months. He said he was a wealthy business man, who lived in a nearby city and was temporarily in Africa on business. In October, he said his contract in Africa would soon be up and that he wanted to meet, but he needed $250 to hold him over until a check cleared. Donna offended her new sweetie when she expressed her hesitancy to give money to a stranger. So she sent him the money, and later another $1,500, never to hear from him again.

Stay tuned for more stories of love – and money – lost through Sweetheart Swindles.

Tell ‘Em What You Really Think about America’s Health Care – National Consumers League

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By Ria Eapen

When it comes to health care, what matters most to you?  And what changes would you make to our country’s health care system?

AFL-CIO, the largest organization of working people in America, and Working America, the 2 million-member community affiliate of the AFL-CIO, are interested in what Americans think about these issues and have sponsored the 2008 Health Care for America Survey to hear what you have to say.

Survey findings will be given to the presidential candidates, every U.S. Senator and Representative, every candidate for Congress, and state and local officials in every state in our country.  This survey gives you the chance to have your voice heard by leaders and candidates at every level. And everyone who completes the survey will have an opportunity to view the results. Neat!

Alcohol Facts – National Consumers League

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By National Consumers League staff

What’s a dieter to do? A solid month into the new year, resolutions going strong: counting calories, exercising, avoiding late-night binges.

But the weekend’s just around the corner, and one can only avoid Friday happy hours for so long. Wouldn’t it be nice if somehow you could actually look at any bottle of beer or wine or tequila and find out how many calories or grams of fat are in it?

Have allergies? Wouldn’t it be nice to know the ingredients in what you’re drinking? Counting carbs? Watching your alcohol intake? What’s an info-seeking consumer to do?

Currently, the labeling on beverages containing alcohol is all across the board, with most drinks lacking easy-to-find information about calories, serving sizes, etc. For years, NCL has been asking the federal government to make a change for the positive and better regulate this stuff with a standardized, useful “Alcohol Facts” label. (Think “Nutrition Facts” for beer.)

Here’s our latest call for change.

Child Labor Coalition Hosts Guests to Hear about Sweatshop, Child Labor in China – National Consumers League

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by Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

Two activists from the China Labor Watch came to Washington DC January 15, 2008 to speak to the Child Labor Coalition, a national organization of child labor advocates and activists lead by the National Consumers League. Li Qiang, Executive Director of China Labor Watch, and David Shih, executive assistant and translator for Li Qiang, spent an hour with the CLC. Li Qiang described how he came from a union family and worked in factories until he went to law school. He was able to experience personally the exploitation of workers in Chinese factories.

Li began organizing and has been at the forefront of the workers rights movement in China, encouraging businesses to develop a legal framework for the enforcement of local and national labor law. CLW has produced more than 20 in-depth reports on a wide range of topics. One of the most controversial, released in August 2007, showed that between December 2006 and August 2007, toy factories in China had violated labor laws, including employing teenagers from rural areas in their factories. Toys associated with Disney, Gosh International and Hasbro, among others, were implicated.

Li Qiang noted that Mattel has a better record than most companies because in recent years its corporate leadership determined to make improving factory and worker conditions a priority.

The CLC also heard from Han Donfang, founder and director of the China Labour Bulletin, who spoke about his work defending and promoting workers rights in China. Based in Hong Kong, CLB has ties to labor organizations and finds that child labor is “widespread, systemic, and an increasingly serious problem in China.” CLB’s report, “Small Hands: a Survey Report on Child Labor in China,” is based on research carried out in 2005, and explores the demand for child labor and the causes, including serious failings in the rural school systems. Researchers for CLB talked with school teachers, labor officials, factory owners and administrators, child workers, and their parents to develop the profile of living and working conditions of child laborers. Han Donfang talked about the report, the research, and efforts to combat the exploitation of child labor in China.

Settling In, and Giving You the Inside Scoop – National Consumers League

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by Tim McNutt, Public Policy Intern

I met Executive Director Sally Greenberg, last fall at the Equal Justice Works Conference, and was so inspired by her energy and optimism, that I decided to take a semester off from my studies at the California Western School of Law to intern at NCL.

As I’ve been settling in at the League, I am awe stricken and inspired by the breadth and magnitude of issues that NCL takes on. Whether it is combating telemarketing fraud, child labor in sweatshops, or the latest predatory trend on dating websites, my new colleagues are zealous advocates for consumers’ rights.

I hope to continue blogging here, and will do my best to give you the scoop on what’s going on at the League.

Changing drugs? Talk to your doc! – National Consumers League

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by Rebecca Burkholder

For many of us, January is a time for change. New diets, new routines, new habits. For some of us, the new year may also see changes to our health insurance plans, which may mean facing the confusing process of switching from one medicine to a similar drug.

So, if you find yourself in this situation, be sure to talk to your doctor what you might expect to see the next time you go to fill your Rx at the pharmacy counter.

  • Why am I being switched? Is my current medicine working well?
  • Will the new drug work better? Will it lower my costs?
  • How can I tell if it is working?
  • Will I need to do anything differently – take it more or less often, at different times, or with or without food?
  • Are there any side effects? What about interactions with other drugs, dietary supplements, or foods?

In addition to asking questions, you should pay attention to how the new meds are working. Look for changes in symptoms or side effects. Keep track, and tell your doctor what you notice.

The month of January of NCL’s “2008 Consumer Calendar: Do We Have Tips for You!” has more tips, sponsored by Pfizer Inc., to help consumers who may be switching medications.

Time to Talk – National Consumers League

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by NCL Staff

Our friends at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health have just launched an educational campaign—Time to Talk—to encourage the discussion of use. Complementary and alternative meds (CAM) include products and practices such as herbal supplements, meditation, chiropractic care, and acupuncture.

AARP recently teamed up with NCCAM to survey patients over the age of 50, and they found that patients and their physicians aren’t really talking about alternative medicine. It looks like patients don’t know to ask their docs about alternative meds, and physicians aren’t initiating the conversations either. But this doesn’t mean that consumers aren’t using the herbal supplements, and other alternative medicines. The same survey found that nearly two-thirds ARE using it!

Hence, the Time to Talk program – put in place to try to initiate discussion between patients and their docs about what kinds of treatments they’re using or interested in trying. We at NCL are big fans of patient-provider communication, and we’re happy to help spread the word about Time to Talk. We’ve even provided a personal medication record for all consumers to get their medications listed in one place and help begin a conversation with their doctors – to prevent medication duplication, dangerous interactions, or a general lack of communication between doctors and patients. Good for you, NCCAM, and best of luck on spreading the messages of this important campaign!

Holiday Weekend Reflections: Honoring a Social Justice Hero – National Consumers League

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by NCL staff

As we all pack up for the long weekend and imagine how we’ll use our Monday holiday (a trip to the outlet malls, cleaning out the basement, finally putting away holiday decorations, etc.), we thought it was a nice time to reflect on January 21 and why it’s an important day.

This coming Monday is a federal holiday to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., remembered for his leadership in the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Day became a holiday at the insistence of unions, which King long supported.

Nearly 40 years after his assassination, King’s legacy of nonviolence and social justice lives on. We at NCL hold a special place in our hearts for King and other leaders in social justice over the decades because of our shared history.

NCL was founded more than 100 years ago out of concern for workers and consumers rights in light of the horrendous conditions of sweatshops. NCL’s commitment to social justice – playing an instrumental role in Muller v. Oregon, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld state law protections against overwork by women, has remained over the years.

Today, NCL continues to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the U.S. and abroad:

  • Running the Child Labor Coalition, which aims to protect working minors and end child labor exploitation. At a meeting of the CLC this week, we heard from representatives of China Labor Watch, a New York-based group that concerns itself with workers’ rights in China. (Pictured at right are David Shih, Executive Assistant and Li Qiang, Executive Director, China Labor Watch.)
  • Drawing attention to the link between consumer issues and fair labor standards
  • In our October 2007 testimony before the President’s Working Group on Import Safety we pointed out the link between recent revelations about lead-based paint in toys and reports of poor working conditions in the factories that produce them.
  • Playing a vital role in writing the first international standard on social responsibility, as one of the only consumer delegates involved

NCL honors King, the great leader of the U.S. nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace, and we reaffirm our commitment to continue empowering consumers’ and workers’ interests through our education and advocacy efforts.

Sneezin’ Toddler? Feds Say TLC, not OTCs, Best Meds – National Consumers League

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By NCL staff

A lot of moms and dads turn to over the-counter cough and cold medicine when a kid comes down with the sniffles, but according to a public advisory issued today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), pediatric cough and cold meds are no longer considered safe enough for use in kids under the age of 2.

The safety of those medicines was questioned starting late last summer, with an FDA advisory committee meeting in October. An FDA advisory panel voted 13-9 to not administer the use of cough and cold medicines to children six and under. The FDA has not taken final action on this recommendation.

Manufacturers of the cough and cold products for children under 2 voluntarily withdrew them from pharmacy shelves before the advisory committee even met in the fall. The FDA has made a final decision, affirming the position that cough and cold meds are no longer safe to use in kids two and under. So, in the middle of a tough cold and flu season, what’s a parent to do? Thankfully, there are ways to safely treat our kids’ coughs and colds. And stay tuned for more on this from the FDA in the coming months.

How Healthy Is Your Nest Egg? – National Consumers League

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by NCL staff

We recently ran across an advertisement for an insurance company that included this fact: “Hallmark sold 85,000 ‘Happy 100th Birthday!’ cards last year.”

That’s certainly something to think about. The ad also said that the average American is living about 20 years past the age of 65 (87 for women, and 84 for men). That’s a lot of years, post-retirement, that consumers need to plan for, and a recent survey indicates that many seniors aren’t considering basics like health and medical costs when they’re saving for the golden years.

According to a national survey of 1,000 Americans over the age of 65 conducted by Directive Analytics, more than half of retirees (55 percent) have said they completely overlooked their health care and prescription drug needs when planning for retirement expenses, and one in three seniors said their medical or drug costs surpass their expectations, and are taking away from their “golden years” lifestyle.

The good news is that there are plenty of resources out there to help seniors who may be looking for ways to cut their health costs. Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs helps consumers find the most effective and safe drugs with the most value for your dollar. Also, Medco Health Solutions, Inc., is offering a free guide including tips about shopping for Medicare plans, saving on prescription refills, and avoiding medication duplication.