
Coffee sold in California must carry cancer warning, judge rules - yawz
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43594645
======
dilap
As a resident of California, these warnings are a joke. You learn to pay
absolutely no attention to them, because they are _everywhere_. They are like
the real-life equivalent of the "this site uses cookies" warnings the EU
imposes.

Do the people behind this lawsuit truly in good-faith believe such warnings
for coffee will make the world better? (It seems hard to imagine.) Or are
there other motivation at play here?

~~~
space_ghost
I used to work for an eyeglass lens manufacturer. I remember having to set up
a new label printing system to print labels that said "this product contains
blah blah known to cause cancer blah blah". This was on _eyeglass lenses_.
What's the exposure risk here? Eating them? Who eats their eyeglass lenses?

~~~
hoopleheaded
Maybe the exposure risk was from dust inhalation if the lenses were cut or
ground to fit a pair frames. Though point taken - prop 65 warnings are on
everything. I still choose to enter parking garages.

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zaroth
_The lawsuit was filed in 2010 and says coffee sellers should pay fines of up
to $2,500 (£1,800) for every person exposed to acrylamide in California since
2002. The next phase of the trial will determine the exact penalties, but some
companies have reportedly agreed to settle and post warnings about the
chemical._

A great example of how much bad regulations can cost businesses, or even good
regulations applied badly.

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thotpoizn
At this point, there should probably just be a generic "THIS PRODUCT IS KNOWN
TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER" sticker that companies can stick
on pretty much anything they sell there. <eyeroll>

~~~
hello_asdf
I get the sarcasm, but would this be legal? It's satire if it's not actually
known as a carcinogen, and a legal requirement if it is. It would dilute the
warning in the public's perception, but companies might find it cheapest and
easiest to just stick it on everything.

~~~
cydonian_monk
The “warning” is already as diluted as the coffee in question, and has been
seen by many as a joke for years now.

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nonbel
Interesting that no one thinks to blame the researchers for this predicament.
The truth is that the way carcinogenesis is tested nearly everything will lead
to cancer in some dose (the same way that drinking water will kill you if you
drink enough at once). This isn't even news, eg 1990:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC54830/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC54830/)

These goofy california signs are just a symptom of the underlying crappy
research. It is what happens if you actually take these "discoveries"
seriously.

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anonu
I'll never forget scrolling through google news a few years back. There were
two articles that were grouped together but with slightly different headlines:

    
    
      Recent study shows that coffee extends life
    
      Recent study shows that coffee causes cancer
    

This is one of those debates that will never end. The solution is "everything
in moderation". I enjoy a cup of coffee per day - and I limit it at that...

~~~
rdruxn
A daily habit does not strike me as moderation

~~~
kerng
I have been wondering about this for a while about coffee and energy drinks as
well. Is one a day already addiction? I have a co-worker who has a Red Bull
every day and he pointed to an article that said, one per day is fine. To me
it seemed way too much. Maybe moderation is once a week?

~~~
nanny
>Is one a day already addiction?

Absolutely yes. I have only a cup of coffee (or the equivalent caffeine via
tea) per day and get killer headaches if I skip a day. Whether this is okay or
not, I'm not sure. I usually see articles saying three or four hundred
milligrams is okay, but that seems like a lot to me (that's a few cups a day
depending on how you measure your cups).

~~~
ninkendo
I have several cups of coffee per weekday morning and I don't even notice when
I skip a day (I don't drink it on weekends since it's more of a work ritual.)

Am I addicted?

~~~
BrandoElFollito
Same here. I also drink on week-ends but forgot once to bring coffee to the
office for for days and did not care.

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maccard
> Acrylamide is created when starchy foods are roasted

Does this mean that potatoes should come with a warning? And bread?

~~~
ralph0
__Anecdote Alert! __A very knowledgeable Chinese doctor (acupuncturist,
trained on the mainland)warned me of this decades ago.

She said that for my body type, coffee was extremely bad. She explained (in
her broken English)that the coffee contained "fire" due to the way the beans
were processed and that this could make me more susceptible to cancer. Grilled
food was also a no-no (for me). Baked & fried foods? For most people,
fuggedaboudit!

I can't help but notice the latest research is beginning to show exactly what
she told me all those years ago.

~~~
BrandoElFollito
My very knowledgeable statistics professor (my professor beats your doctor)
told me that extraordinary claims ("fire" content from grilling causing
cancer) require extraordinary evidence (say, some science behind)

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CompelTechnic
There is a certain point where safety warnings become meaningless.

Californian carcinogens are far past this point.

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DennisP
I think they've set the bar so low that the warning is meaningless to
consumers.

------
kerng
Reading the comments here it strikes me that apparently noone agrees with this
decision as apparently in California a lot of products seem to carry such
cancer warnings. I'm not living in California, but is this true, do you have
examples? Just curious.

~~~
dmschulman
Many building in California, including apartments, will carry the warning
label if they were built before a certain year and if lead paint may have been
used inside in the past. Even if the lead paint has been removed.

Many fast food drive thrus will have the sticker on the drive thru window due
to the preservatives used in some of the food and the components used in the
cooking process.

Disneyland has signs bearing the warning through out the park.

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macspoofing
Wait till California finds out about the radioactivity of bananas.

~~~
mey
Don't tell them rice contains arsenic.

~~~
LinuxBender
As does wine.

------
gormz
I wonder how many people were drinking coffee in the court room during this
trial.

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colejohnson66
Comment section on The Hill’s article:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16712820](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16712820)

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combatentropy
If I'm reading this right, 425 cups of coffee a day might cause cancer. But
I've also read that 70 cups will immediately kill you.

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teilo
I get the impression that trial lawyers must have spent a lot of money on Prop
65 advertising during that election cycle.

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liveoneggs
what about potatoes and toast?

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lern_too_spel
Another consequence of legislation by ballot initiative.

~~~
dmode
One of the downsides of ballot initiatives is not only you can pass silly laws
via fear mongering, but it is also impossible to repeal them

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cup-of-tea
Soon companies will be trying to get these labels as a sign that their product
is delicious. A bit like "Parental Advisory" stickers on CDs.

