Current Events in December 2010

While we usually have good intentions about saving money each month for our Christmas shopping, we don't always follow through with the plan.

Now, more than ever, it is important to be "smart shoppers" when we hit the stores for our holiday shopping.Of course, the best plan is to shop early, but that is not always possible.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem offers some things to consider before hitting the mall or the Internet to do your Christmas shopping.

• Set a budget before beginning the shopping process.
• Make a list before leaving home.Do research on brands, features of the product, and rebates that may be available and general product information.
• Don't limit your choices.Have a back-up plan in case you are not able to find the exact item you are seeking.
• Advertised items are not always the cheapest.Before making your final selection, check out other brands of similar products.
• If an item you wish to purchase is sold out, ask for a "rain check" or if the business is substituting another item in its place.Make sure the product will arrive in time for the holidays if you are given a "rain check."
• Watch store ads and look for unadvertised specials while in the store.Most items will go on sale at some point during the holiday season.
• Save your receipts for at least 90 days after your purchase.This will allow you or the recipient of the gift to return a product that doesn't fit, is broken or is a duplicate.
• Be sure to check each store's refund and exchange policy.If you have to return an item to a store, you have only limited rights. A store may set its own policy, which may include a cash refund, a store credit, an exchange, or no refund at all.Others may limit the amount of time in which a return may be made, such as 30 days from the date of purchase. It is best to ask about refund policies before buying anything.
• Don't wait until the last minute. It will help avoid frustration if you are unable to find that perfect gift.Allow time for an alternate plan.
• Shop during off peak hours.Early morning hours and evening hours during the week are usually the busiest.

Gift card caution

Gift cards have become very popular in the past several years.These cards allow the recipient to "get what he or she really wants."

Universal or "general use prepaid" gift cards are the most frequently purchased gift cards and allow the recipient to go just about anywhere they want to make their purchase including retailers and restaurants. Examples include mall gift cards contained on a plastic card or other electronic payment device and redeemable at the unaffiliated stores throughout the mall.

While gift cards can be the easy gift to buy for someone who has everything, they are not without problems.If a company goes out of business, or files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, what will be the status of the outstanding gift cards?

In many cases, the holders of the gift cards will not receive anything and the giver will be out the money.The gift card will hold no value.If you do give or receive a gift card this year, it should be spent within a reasonable period of time.

If you decide to join the millions who plan to do their shopping online and take advantage of the free shipping offers this year, there are some important things to remember before you do.

• Make sure you are purchasing from a reputable business.
• Make sure you order on a secure server or encrypted website (https).
• Read all the product information and compare prices.
• Review the return, refund, and shipping and handling policies.
• Pay with your credit card.
• Print and save records of your online purchases.

While the holidays can be the start of many consumer headaches, you can avoid the stress with a little preparation.

Mortgage rates might be at historic lows but the interest rates on credit cards and other so-called unsecured loans seem to be reaching levels once the domain of loan sharks. If your credit score falls below a certain number card companies won't bat an eye as they raise your APR to 29.9%.

It's hard enough for most of us to get out from under an ever growing mountain of card when lenders raise their interest rates but for members of the military, it's even more devastating because in many cases they've taken a cut in pay to serve their country.

Fortunately, due to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, active duty military personnel could qualify for special protection. This includes putting a cap on interest rate for credit cards, mortgages and other loans at 6%. But to be eligible, you had to have incurred the debt before you began active duty, and your military service must be impacting your ability to repay them.

Although this helps anyone who took a pay cut to join the military, it especially helps members of the Reserves and National Guard, some of whom had to leave left higher-paying civilian jobs for months, or even years, when they're unit is called up. Credit cards, mortgages and other loans taken out jointly with a non-military spouse also qualify for the rate reduction.

You can request the rate reduction on your own or get help from an Armed Forces Legal Assistance office. You may be asked to submit copies of your military orders, earnings statements and tax returns to prove your income has been reduced.

In an interview with Kiplinger's, Samuel Wright, director of the Service Members Law Center for the Reserve Officers Association, pointed out that it is the creditor who has the burden of proof to show your entry into active duty did not materially affect your ability to meet financial obligations.

Wright says any interest above 6% is forgiven while you're on active duty, but it will return to the higher rate after your active duty is over and that higher rate will only apply to the remaining balance. To make the most of this provision, you should try to pay down as much of your credit-card balances as possible while the rate is low and more of your payment will go toward the principal rather than interest.

The act provides other benefits, as well, such as giving you the right to terminate an apartment lease if you have a permanent order for a change of station or are deployed to a new location for 90 days or more. In addition, you can end a car lease without incurring an early-termination fee if you are deployed for 180 days or longer.

You can find more information at the Pentagon Federal Credit Union's website at www.penfed.org.

The price of gasoline seems to have pressed the accelerator to the floor since the weekend, rising nearly a dime a gallon in the last seven days, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Survey.

The average price of self-serve regular today is $2.951 a gallon, up a nickel a gallon since Friday. The price is 32 cents a gallon more than at this time last year. Sixteen states now have average gas prices that exceed $3 a gallon.

Analysts say prices at the pump are simply responding to the price of crude oil, which nearly broke through the $90 a barrel level early Monday. Crude oil is rising, they say, on the outlook for a weaker U.S. dollar, which is how energy products are priced.

Many attribute the dollar's weakness to the Federal Reserve's Quantitative Easing program, which is designed to keep interest rates low. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared on CBS' 60 Minutes Sunday, where he defended the policy and did not rule out another round of easing if the economy fails to respond.

Ironically, the dollar is showing very little weakness at the moment, gaining ground Monday against the euro. Many traders say oil prices will go even higher if and when the dollar begins to retreat.

For consumers, meanwhile, the increase in energy prices comes at a time when they normally expect to pay less for gasoline because of reduced demand. At the same time, home heating costs are continuing to rise, since demand for heat is up as winter-like weather begins to take hold in many parts of the country.

When drunk driving became an alarming road hazard, technology came up with a breathalyzer that would not allow the car to start if the driver had been drinking.

Now, a similar device might be in the works to address a new driving issue - people who talk or text on cell phones while driving. The idea is being taken seriously in Washington.

Appearing on the cable news channel MSNBC last week, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said his department is investigating to see if current technology can be used to disable cell phones in vehicles.

"There's a lot of technology out there than can disable phones, and we're looking at that," LaHood said.

LaHood said the idea gained a lot of traction earlier this year at the Transportation Department's Distracted Driving Summit. It's not clear what form the anti-cell phone technology would be deployed, but wireless experts say signal scrambling technology may be the most obvious.

"I think it will be done," LaHood said.

Federal and state governments have taken a variety of steps to reduce the number of people who drive while talking or texting, increasingly blamed for traffic accidents. In June the Senate Commerce Committee approved a bipartisan bill that would reward states for banning drivers from talking on cell phones or sending and receiving text messages.

In August the Transportation Department kicked off pilot programs in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York to test whether increased law enforcement efforts can get distracted drivers to put down their cell phones and focus on the road.

The pilot programs, which are similar to previous efforts to curb drunken driving and increase seat belt use among drivers, were the first federally funded efforts in the country to specifically focus on the effects of increased enforcement and public advertising on reducing distracted driving. Drivers caught texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone will be pulled over and ticketed.

Here's one benefit for the unemployed that Congress isn't about to cut off: If you're out of work, you can get an additional free credit report each year, according to CreditCards.com, which bills itself as an online credit card marketplace.

Federal law requires that all U.S. consumers be granted free access to their credit reports once every 12 months. Unemployed workers, however, are entitled to an extra report during their job searches.

Those reports can have a serious effect on consumers' financial lives. Because employers frequently use credit reports in their hiring decisions, consumers who review those reports -- and take action based on the information they contain -- can improve their chances of getting hired.

Unfortunately, consumers often fail to exercise that right, according to experts. "Most people who are unemployed are unaware that they are eligible to receive a free credit report," says Olivia Almagro, public information officer with the South Florida Workforce Investment Board in Miami.

Why? Because while ad campaigns have informed people of their right to one free credit report per year from each of the three credit bureaus, little is said or done to let the jobless know of their extra right.

Benefits to the unemployed

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, each of the three major U.S. credit bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- must provide all consumers with a free credit report each year. And they do -- online, through AnnualCreditReport.com, which they jointly sponsor. The act also enables those who are out of work to get an additional credit report at no cost, provided those consumers plan to look for a job within 60 days. Unemployed workers have had that right since 1996.

It's a right worth exercising.

"Unemployed consumers may want to check their credit reports when applying for jobs because employers may ask to perform a background check, which could include credit report information," says Rebecca Kuehn, assistant director with the FTC's division of privacy and identity protection.

Although some consumer advocates and lawmakers argue that such credit checks are an unfair barrier to employment, they continue to be permitted in most states. "It is important to know what is in your report and, if there are errors, take steps to get them corrected," Kuehn says. Otherwise, those damaging errors, left untreated, could potentially keep an applicant from getting hired.

Credit reports can also encourage better budgeting. A consumer can use that report to figure out what debts remain outstanding and whether any accounts are in collections, says Natalie Pankow, a credit adviser with the Jewish Vocational Service in Chicago. That can help with prioritizing repayments. "During unemployment, when income is tight and/or uncertain, learning to prioritize payments, reduce spending, stretch unemployment checks and get access to other nonprofit agencies is paramount," Pankow says.

Getting free credit reports

In spite of the benefits, requesting these reports isn't so straightforward. Compared with the centralized website and phone number, unemployed workers will find the process of getting a free report is "definitely not one that's set to a standard format," the FTC's Kuehn says.

An unemployed consumer who wants a free report must contact the bureaus directly. The request process varies:

• Experian says the unemployed can visit its Website, call (866) 200-6020 or write a letter to the bureau certifying they are jobless. The letter should include: the consumer's full name (including middle initial and suffix such as Sr., Jr. or III), current mailing address, Social Security number, date of birth, previous addresses for the past five years and two proofs of the consumer's current mailing address, such as driver's license, utility bill, bank or insurance statement. The information should be mailed to: P.O. Box 9530, Allen, TX 75013. The bureau says once it gets that information, the consumer can expect a report within 10 business days.
• TransUnion offers a link on its Website  for consumers seeking a free TransUnion credit report, including for the unemployed. They can also call (800) 888-4213 or mail a form to TransUnion LLC, P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.
• Equifax says consumers can go online or call (800) 685-1111. Additionally, they can write to Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374.

Better publicity needed

A consumer's right to a free credit report has been well publicized, including a national advertising campaign for AnnualCreditReport.com, but there hasn't been a similar effort targeting the jobless. In fact, a Google search indicates the AnnualCreditReport.com website makes no mention of the reports for the unemployed.

At the local level, certain state agencies acknowledge they aren't doing much to inform their residents. The Illinois Department of Employment Security, for example, doesn't say anything to unemployed workers about requesting their free reports. "I don't think it's anything that's been given a lot of thought to," says IDES spokesman Greg Rivara.

Meanwhile, California's Employment Development Department says although its program doesn't provide that information, the state's Department of Consumer Affairs does mention the free credit reports on its website.

Florida's Agency for Workforce Innovation, which administers the state's unemployment compensation, doesn't have a formal procedure for letting unemployed workers know about the free reports. However, "when unemployment compensation customers or workforce services customers have direct interaction with agency staff, this type of information may be shared," says Robby Cunningham, the agency's communications director.

The FTC says it wants more unemployed consumers to be aware of the free reports. "We like to make sure consumers know what rights they do have," the FTC's Kuehn says.

Chicken titan Perdue proudly labels select birds as "humanely raised." But the Humane Society says that claim is false, and it intends to prove it in a class action lawsuit it filed last week.

The suit, filed in a New Jersey state court, is being brought on behalf of Nadine Hemy, who bought a Perdue Harvestland chicken at a local BJ's Wholesale Club. Perdue markets its Harvestland birds as "purely all-natural" and "humanely raised."

According to the suit, Perdue bases its standards on guidelines issued by the National Chicken Council, the trade association that represents the chicken industry. Under those standards, the suit says, chickens can be deprived of food and water during transport; raised in dark conditions; and hung upside down just before they are slaughtered.

"Perdue's 'Humanely Raised' chickens are not treated humanely or differently from Perdue's other chickens and are not treated in any material respects differently from chicks of other major producers," the complaint alleges.

Words don't match actions, HS lawyer says

Jonathan Lovvorn, the Humane Society's vice president and chief counsel, said in a statement that Perdue is "exploiting the dramatic growth of consumer demand for improved animal welfare for their own profit."

"Rather than implementing humane reforms, Perdue has simply slapped 'humanely raised' stickers on its factory farmed products, hoping consumers won't know the difference," Lovvorn said.

The complaint contends that Perdue's "humanely raised" label violates New Jersey's consumer fraud law. Hemy is seeking an injunction barring the company from continuing to use the label, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.

Perdue fires back

In a statement, Perdue defended its "humanely raised" label and explicitly took on the suit's allegations regarding its treatment of its chickens.

"Our chickens are raised cage-free on family farms in temperature-controlled housing with a continuous flow of fresh air, and they remain free to move about, with constant access to food and water,” the company said.

On Perdue's Harvestland website -- which is appropriately named PurelyAllNatural.com -- the company boasts that the birds are "free of any additives or preservatives. And they're raised in strict accordance with best practices for humane treatment."

"At Harvestland, we've raised the bar on what 'all-natural' food means," the site continues. "Lots of labels may 'say' it, but most fall way short of what we believe in deeply."

This isn't the first time that Perdue has been accused of false advertising. In April, the company settled a suit contending that it falsely claimed its chickens are "raised without antibiotics." That suit stemmed from a June 2008 order by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that Tyson remove the claim from its birds. The USDA said in a statement that it "found that [Tyson] routinely used the antibiotic Gentamicin to prevent illness and death in chicks."

If your favorite college football team has qualified to play in one of the seemingly dozens of bowl games, be careful before you lay out your hard-earned money for a trip to attend the post-season matchup.

"Fraudulent ticket offers appear on a number of websites, including Craigslist, and in classified ads," said Janet Jenkins, Administrator of the Wisconsin Division of Trade and Consumer Protection. "Fans should only buy tickets from people or businesses they know or have checked out thoroughly." Otherwise,  she says, travelers might end up watching the game on TV from their homes, or arriveat the game to find they have no tickets and no place to stay.

History a guide

That's happened before. In 1994, nearly 10,000 University of Wisconsin Badger fans were taken in by a Rose Bowl ticket scam. The large Wisconsin contingent learned of their bogus tickets after making the long trip to California and never made it to the game.

"Before hopping a plane for the upcoming Rose Bowl, or any bowl game, have the official game tickets in your procession," added Jenkins. "Scam artists can easily replicate tickets, so consumers need to do their homework to confirm their legitimacy."

Caution the key

Jenkins offers these tips to avoid becoming a fraud victim:

• Ask the seller to e-mail or fax you a copy of the actual tickets before making a payment. Make sure the ticket information includes the correct date, time; location; and seating details.
• If you purchase a package, contact the airline and hotel directly to make certain that you have legitimate reservations.
• Do not give out your credit card number -- online or over the phone -- unless you are sure the seller is legitimate.
• Use a credit card rather than cash, check or debit card to purchase tickets since it may provide some protection if you do not receive the tickets or there is no room at the inn where you thought you had a reservation.
• Contact your local consumer protection agency to determine if complaints have been filed against the business with which you are thinking of doing business.
• Try to deal with "official" sources for tickets such as those endorsed by the university or those that are members of the National Association of Ticket Brokers. The businesses carefully screen ticket offers and take care of other measures to protect consumers from ticket fraud.
• Verify that any travel agent with whom you are dealing is a member of a recognized trade association, such as the American Society of Travel Agents.

Refund terms

Some sellers promise a refund on pre-purchased tickets if the team is invited to another post-season competition. In this case, make sure to keep a copy of the return policy and hang on to the receipt.

However, even when sellers refund the ticket price, some consumers still lose money on hotel and airline reservations. To prevent this from happening to you, consider getting trip insurance.

Jenkins says watching a bowl game could be a once in a lifetime event for those who are going. "Don't ruin it," she advises, "by failing to cross the 'Ts' and dot the 'Is' ahead of time."

The holiday season is upon us. So, it seems, is the flu season. The Centers for Disease Control says reported cases of flu have jumped in the last week.

The good news? If you've gotten a flu shot, you're much more protected since the virus strains identified so far closely match the ones used in this year's batch of vaccine.

The CDC has set aside this week as National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW). The week-long emphasis on flu vaccination was established to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination, as well as fostering greater use of flu vaccine after the holiday season into January and beyond.

With three strains of flu expected to circulate in the 2010-2011 season, the CDC says it is important that everyone six months of age and older get vaccinated if they haven't already done so, to protect themselves and their loved ones from flu.

Three strains identified so far

The three flu strains identified by the CDCs' Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are an A/H3N2 strain, a B strain and the 2009 H1N1 pandemic strain. This year's flu vaccine provides protection against all three strains and approximately 160 million doses of the vaccine have already been distributed nationwide.

Unlike previous years, when production snafus resulted in fewer-than-expected doses, there seems to be plenty of vaccine to go around. So much so that health officials want everyone to get a flu shot this year. The universal flu vaccine recommendation, which encourages everyone six months of age and older to be vaccinated, took effect this flu season.

Last year, the H1N1 "swine" flu didn't appear until April, after the U.S. flu vaccine formula was already in production, so the flu vaccine provided little, if any, protection from that strain. Health officials say this year, there are no such complications.

"The new vaccination recommendation shows the importance of preventing the flu in everyone," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service and CDC's Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. "People who do not get vaccinated are taking two risks: first, they are placing themselves at risk for the flu, including a potentially long and serious illness, and second, if they get sick, they are also placing their close contacts at risk for influenza."

"The bottom line is, anyone -- even healthy people -- can get sick from the flu," said Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard K. Koh said anyone - even healthy people - can get sick from the flu bug.

"Lead the way to better health for all by getting your flu shot," he urged.

In case there was any confusion about its position on Comcast's new fees, Level 3 Communications has issued another statement on the controversy.

The issue first surfaced last week when Level 3 complained that Comcast has announced its intention to levy ongoing fees for delivering content to Comcast, such as movies, that Comcast's subscribers have requested. Level 3 is a major supplier of streaming technology for NetFlix, which delivers video content via the Internet.

Comcast has countered that Level 3 is trying to gain an unfair advantage over competitors by using Comcast's network to deliver content without paying for it.

"Comcast's characterization could not be more misleading," Level 3 said in a statement."What is truly at stake is whether consumers should have unfettered access to all the content on the Internet without regard to whether that content happens to be owned or packaged by Comcast."

Net neutrality

Supporters of the concept of Net neutrality have seized on the controversy as an illustration of why the policy is needed. They say consumers will end up paying more for some content if network providers are able to discriminate among content providers. Opponents, on the other hand, say it perfectly illustrates why Net neutrality is unfair to network operators.

Level 3 says the disagreement is not a "peering dispute," as Comcast has characterized it.

"At issue is a fundamental interconnection disagreement between Comcast, as a provider of local high speed Internet access to consumers who pay Comcast for access to content, and Level 3, which delivers content to residential broadband access providers like Comcast in response to consumer requests," the company said.

Unlike "peering" in the Internet backbone, where competition abounds and prices have been declining steadily, Level 3 said, Internet carriers that have content requested by Comcast subscribers have no choice but to exchange traffic with Comcast.

"Comcast is using this dominant position to demand payment for traffic delivered at its customers' requests. You simply cannot "route around" Comcast to provide requested content to Comcast's subscribers," Level 3 said.

Commonplace and standard?

Comcast says the fees it charges are commonplace and standard within the industry. Level 3 says that's not the case.

"No other broadband access provider in the U.S. is now charging Level 3 the type of fees that Comcast is charging," the company said. "It is Comcast that seeks to change the common approach, changing the rules of the game in an unreasonable and discriminatory manner."

The controversy began last month with NetFlix retained Level 3 to provide the bulk of the streaming services needed to send movies to subscribers. Level 3 asked Comcast and other Internet Service Providers to give it more access to their networks so they could handled the expected increase in traffic from NetFlix.

When Level 3 asked Comcast for new interconnection ports to its network, it didn't expect to pay anything for that since it said it was providing content requested by Comcast customers. Comcast, while also sells video content to its subscribers, views it as unfair competition, and says paying a fee to deliver content over its network is reasonable.

This time of year, consumers should keep in mind that not all groups they say they are a charity really are. In Illinois, Attorney General Lisa Madigan has taken legal action to underscore that point.

Madigan has filed for an injunction seeking to shut down the Chicago-based We Stop the Killings organization for allegedly operating illegally and soliciting donations from the public. Madigan's injunction also seeks to permanently bar the six defendants from managing any charitable organization in Illinois.

The Attorney General's action alleges that in June 2010 Yolanda King illegally reinstated a long-dissolved charity, Youth Action of the Midwest, naming herself, Warren Jackson, Armatha Kirkwood, Lisa Hendricks, Linda Sabo and Jeanne Taylor as its directors. King renamed the organization, and together the defendants solicited donations from the public, falsely claiming the funds would help prevent youth violence in the Chicago area.

Youth Action of the Midwest operated in the early 1980s but was dissolved by the Secretary of State's office in 1989. Madigan's office discovered the defendants had no involvement whatsoever with the dissolved Youth Action charity and is alleging that by reinstating the organization they violated the state's General Not For Profit Corporation and Solicitation Acts. Madigan's filing also seeks an accounting of all funds raised by the defendants through We Stop the Killings.

"All too often we see defendants like these preying on unsuspecting people who donate hoping they are giving back and helping those in need,” Madigan said. "Before donating your money, ask questions and take time to do research about the charity. Make sure you are satisfied your money is really going to a good cause.”

How can you tell if a charity is legitimate or a scam? Madigan offers these tips:

• Ask how much of your donation will go to the charity and how much will be used to pay fundraising costs. Solicitors must give you this information if you ask.

• Pay close attention to the name of the charity. Some fraudulent charities use names that sound or look like those of legitimate organizations in an effort to mislead you.

• Ask questions about the charity. Donate only when your questions have been answered and you are certain your money will be used according to your wishes. Questions to ask include whether the charity is registered with the Illinois Attorney General's office and what percentage of donations to the charity go to fundraising, administration and charitable programming.

• Do not pay in cash. For security and tax record purposes, pay by check. Be sure to write the full official name of the charity on your check - do not abbreviate.

• Request written information. A legitimate charity will provide you with written information outlining its mission, how your donation will be distributed and proof that your contribution is tax deductible.

• Do not donate if the solicitor uses high-pressure tactics, asks for cash payment or insists on sending someone to pick up your donation. These are all hallmarks of a scam, Madigan says.

The debate over whether America should invest in a high speed rail service continues to be hotly contested and as usual it has become a political battle pitting Republicans against Democrats and Washington against state governments.

On one side are Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, Governor-elect John Kasich of Ohio,Governor-elect Rick Scott of Florida and Governor-elect Scott Walker of Wisconsin. All are Republicans and all are against spending taxpayer money on high-speed trains.

On the other side are Democrats, including Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer from California, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo of New York. They want Washington to give them the billions of dollars in high-speed funds that Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida and New Jersey don't want.

Meanwhile, a recent poll by the American Public Transportation Association shows nearly two out of three Americans (62%) would "definitely or probably” use high-speed rail for leisure or business travel if a system was built. Another 27% said they weren't sure while only 11% said they "probably or definitely would not” use it.

The rest of the world seems to have already embraced the idea of high speed rail service.

Recently, Switzerland completed drilling a tunnel over a mile below the Swiss Alps for what will be the world's longest underground high-speed train. It's going to cost $20 billion. China has plans to build the world's fastest train from Beijing to Shanghai for $32.5 billion.

Meanwhile, in this country, states are fighting efforts to begin high-speed rail projects. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has stopped an $8.7 billion project to double the train capacity between New Jersey and Manhattan via a Hudson River tunnel.

Cost objections

Opponents claim it's an issue of the massive costs associated with building a high speed rail system, but further investigation shows that's just part of the reason. The question being raised is that in a country with a $14.3 trillion gross domestic product, are these relatively small financial outlays the real reason there is so much resistance to high speed rail service in the U.S?

Andy Kunz, CEO of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association (USHSR) says the problem dates back some 70 years when America decided to spend most of its transportation money on roads and runways while other nations concentrated on building up their rail systems.

From Germany to the Eurotunnel under the Channel from London to Paris to Spain and Southern Italy, all of Europe's trains have formed a huge high-speed intercontinental rail service. Even though China started a few years later, it already has the world's longest high-speed rail network running some 5,000 miles and plans to double that length by 2020.

Before Europe and Asia embraced the rails, the U.S led the world in both freight and passenger rail service. In the 1920s trains that reached every city in America. But it wasn't long after the interstate highway system emerged and air travel become cheaper and easier that we transitioned into a nation of drivers and flyers.

So what caused us to derail the railroads? Some say it's the way we built our infrastructure with our suburban crawl and an ambitious highway expansion. If you're an American and live in the suburbs or the country, having your own car becomes your number one priority as soon as you're old enough to drive.

Meanwhile Europeans primarily remained in their dense cities and the need for a personal transportation vehicle was diminished. It wasn't until the recent economic crash when oil hit a high of $145 a barrel that we started to question our infrastructure and over-dependence on foreign oil.

California first?

High-speed rails that go 220 miles an hour are run on electricity. California could the first state to embrace this new and fuel efficient way to travel with plans to begin an 800-mile high-speed rail service that will carry riders between Los Angeles and San Francisco in two and a half hours.

The service is expected to save one-third of the energy per passenger of airplanes and one-fifth the energy per passenger of automobiles, reducing the state's demand for oil by 12.7 million barrels annually, according to the California High-Speed Rail Authority which is charge of the project.

California taxpayers passed Proposition 1A in 2008, allowing the state to sell $9.95 billion in bonds to help pay for the $45 billion project. It is expected to create between 500,000 to 700,000 over the five to seven years of development, along with 450,000 permanent jobs.

Those in favor of high-speed rail service point out that high speed rail service is the most economical form of travel for 500 to 600-mile corridors around the country. Proponents say those short routes are uneconomical for planes and too far for commuting by car. High speed rail service would create jobs while helping to unclog congested highways and runways.

The Obama administration announced recently that it is increasing stimulus funds to for the construction of high-speed passenger rail service on 13 planned corridor lines from $8 billion to $10.4 billion. A study conducted for U.S. Conference of Mayors by Siemens projects that by 2035 the plan could create 150,000 new jobs in Albany, Chicago, Orlando and Los Angeles.

Buffett on board

Our first tip off that high-speed rail service might be a good idea should have been when investment genius Warren Buffett bought Burlington Northern last year proclaiming that railroads represent the future. Granted, Buffett was talking about freight trains and their ability to transport goods and raw materials across the country more economically and efficiently than any other means and he noted that unlike trucks, freight trains don't have to compete on congested highways. The same argument is being used by supporters of high-speed passenger service.

Critics on the other hand say changing our rail service to accommodate high-speed trains will cost a lot more than it did in Europe or Asia. They note that rail service in Asia and parts of Europe is relatively new compared to 150 years or so in U.S. For example, as recently as the end of World War II, China and Japan had little or no rail service. They say that in Europe, Japan and China, their rail infrastructure is built from new concrete rail ties rather than wood. And because of the war, their rail lines could be laid as part of a development plan.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, there's a study underway to determine the feasibility of a high-speed rail service from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to McAllen, Texas. Critics question whether there is that great a need for passengers to get from Oklahoma City to McAllen, Texas. The proposed route would go through populated parts of Dallas/Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, San Antonio and on to McAllen. But the train could only be "high-speed" if it does not have to slow through population area or at road crossings and critics question whether the costs associated with eminent domain and overpasses would be worth it.

And so the debate continues and whether the U.S. joins the rest of the world in high-speed passenger rail service will depend on what most things depend on in this country. If enough voters demand it and let their representatives know how they feel, the money will probably be found.

So it all comes back to you dear reader. Do you want to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, travel relatively inexpensively between cities 500 to 800 miles away or continue to fight the clogged roadways? You could also choose between passing nakedly through scanners or being groped by strangers instead of getting on a train that could have you at your destination in about the same time you'll wait to board your plane.

It's getting more difficult to find cheap gas these days. Even with using those online sites like gasbuddy.com or mapquest.com, the price of fuel at the pump is rising faster than ever.

Within one week, the price at my local cheap gas place jumped from $2.99 to $3.07, and then to $3.11 a gallon. I could drive 50 miles east and get it back down to $3.03 but what's the point if I put a hundred miles on the car to do it?

You may want to check on your local grocery chain. More of them are offering discounts on gasoline.

According to EAI, Inc., a company that tracks the petroleum sector, there are about 5,000 supermarkets and warehouse clubs around the country that offer discounts on gasoline. But to get that discount you either have to spend a certain amount in the store or join the warehouse club where the price of membership starts at $40 a year.

With gasoline prices up close to 10% this year already, the savings could be substantial. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average American household spends about $2,000 per year on gasoline. A $200 annual savings cuts that budget by 10%, allowing you to use that money to pay down debt, or buy better groceries.

So here are 10 ideas for reducing your gasoline bill that you may not be aware of. The first three come from Smart Money magazine.

1.Loyalty rewards at supermarkets. Shoppers with the supermarket's loyalty card are eligible for discounted gas which is usually about five to 10 cents cheaper than nearby filling stations. Customers can earn deeper discounts by spending more money in the store. The more they spend, the deeper the discount. For example, Kroger customers who spend $400 in the grocery store can get a discount of up to 40 cents per gallon. That's $10 off when you fill up your SUV's 25-gallon fill-up. The problem is that over the long run you may not save that much money because you're doing all of your shopping in one store and not looking for grocery items of household staples that could be found for less elsewhere.

2.Warehouse club membership. Major warehouse clubs such as BJ's, Costco and Sam's Club sell discounted gas at select locations. It's usually five to 10 cents less per gallon than nearby service stations. The deal is offered only to club members, who pay at least $40 for their annual membership. Costco plans to open at least 12 more fuel stations in the next year. It also offers 3% cash back on gas purchases for consumers who pay with a Costco-AMEX card. The downside here is that you'll need to buy at least 364 gallons of gas to recoup your $40 membership fee.

3.Gas station credit cards. Gas stations have teamed up with credit-card companies to offer branded credit cards that give generous rebates on gas purchases. The Gulf Platinum MasterCard offers up to 3% rebates for gas purchased at Gulf stations and 1% everywhere else. And with Shell, if you buy at least 45 gallons of its gasoline using their Shell card you can save five cents per gallon up to 100 gallons per month. The negative here is that if you carry a balance on your credit card, the interest will wipe out the savings on gas.

4.Change the way you drive. Everyone knows that driving faster uses more gas, but you can also reduce consumption by slowing down for signals well in advance and not accelerating fast from stop lights or stop signs. Using cruise control on long distances can lower your gas usage by 33%.

5.Empty out your car every now and then. A lighter car uses less fuel.

6.Use the correct fuel. If your car doesn't require a higher octane gas, then don't waste your money buying it. It won't help your car or give you better mileage. The Federal Trade Commission recommends using the regular 87 octane gasoline, unless your owner's manual recommends otherwise, or your engine is knocking.

7.Plan your trips better. If you're heading out the door to run a bunch of errands, plan ahead for the most efficient route so you don't waste time and gasoline by backtracking. And if you need to go a certain route on a frequent basis such as to work, the gym, church or a meeting location, consider carpooling or taking public transportation.

8.Stop idling. If you are waiting, turn off your car. This may be difficult in the winter, but always remember that as long as your engine is running, it's burning fuel. So weigh your options. It might just be cheaper to shut off the car and go inside a store or coffee shop to wait.

9.Buy gasoline at night. Fewer people are buying gas at that time so you save gas you might otherwise use while waiting for a pump. Also, gas expands when it's hot so you may squeeze out a little more in the cool of the evening.

10.  Keep your tire pressure steady and at the manufacturers recommended pressure. You can't always tell just by looking if a tire is under pressure. But when it is, it causes you to use more fuel.

Following these tips can help you save money and reduce the number of times you'll be shivering at the gas pumps this winter. I could also say you'll be contributing to a greener environment and reducing your carbon footprint but that's all beside the point.

A number of consumers have recently reported calls from debt collectors seeking money they don't think they owe. Do they have any recourse?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides a number of consumer protections. Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray has issued a consumer alert, highlighting five specific things debt collectors are not allowed to do:

• Harass you or use obscene words when talking to you.

• Contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

• Contact you without identifying themselves.

• Tell others about your debt.

• Contact you at work if your employer disapproves.

Watch out for scams

Some recent debt collector calls are outright scams. They involve a male caller who pretends to be an attorney or someone representing a payday loan company. He threatens the consumer with arrest and prosecution unless immediate payment is made on the non-existent loan. 

Former Hollywood Video customers have reported getting calls from a collection agency trying to collect late fees allegedly owed to the now defunct video chain. Many say the charges are for movies and games they never rented.

"I received a notice in the mail from Credit Collection Services stating that I owed $355.05 for past due movies from Hollywood Video," Rhiannon, of Portland, Ore., told ConsumerAffairs.com. "I called them and asked for the list of movies I owed. There were nine movies/games I have never rented before."

When you are presented with a debt collectors bill that you don't think is legitimate, Cordray says you need to know your rights. Within five days after contacting you by phone, a debt collector must send you a letter explaining how much you owe, who you owe it to and how long you have to dispute the debt.

You have 30 days from the date you are contacted by the debt collector to send the collector a letter disputing the debt and requesting verification of the debt. Make sure you specifically state that you are requesting verification of the debt, Cordray says.

Whether or not you believe you owe the debt, you can tell debt collectors in writing not to contact you again. Keep in mind that asking for them to stop contacting you does not eliminate any debt you may actually owe, and they still can sue you for such debt.

Another thing to remember is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies only to third-party debt collectors, so these rights do not apply to debt owed to your original creditor, such as your credit card company, or to debt owed to a governmental agency, including unpaid parking tickets, child support or taxes.

If you do owe a debt, Cordray says to watch for companies that promise to "erase" your debt, reduce your interest rate or improve your credit score. These claims are usually bogus, and most debt consolidation companies will charge you for services you could do yourself for little or no cost. Most negative credit information remains on your credit report for seven years.

When you're drowning in debt, you can ill afford to spend money needlessly. That's exactly what a group of struggling consumers did, according to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, and now they'll get that money back.

Abbott says his office has obtained a court order disbursing $3.7 million to Texans and customers in other states who were defrauded by a now bankrupt debt relief firm.

Court documents filed by the state indicate that Debt Relief USA Inc. unlawfully collected millions of dollars from Texans who hired the firm to settle their outstanding debts. Debt Relief collected so-called "set-aside” funds that customers believed would be used to resolve their personal debts.

But when the firm filed for bankruptcy in July 2009, it effectively prevented financially strapped Texans and other customers nationwide from accessing their own money.

In addition to the $3.7 million returned to Texans and consumers nationwide under the agreement, an additional $1 million should become available when the bankruptcy case concludes, Abbott said.

Under the disbursement order signed today, eligible customers need not request that their set-aside funds be refunded. Each customer's eligibility, as well as the amount of refund they are owed, has been determined based on Debt Relief's records.

3,000 customers left high and dry

In June 2009, Debt Relief USA filed for bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas. As a result, more than 3,000 of its financially distressed customers did not receive the debt relief they were promised.

Worse, the victims were denied access to the money they had saved and set aside to pay their debts. Thousands of customers' financial problems were exacerbated by Debt Relief's bankruptcy, because the customers received no real financial assistance and were pursued by debt collection agencies while their money was tied up in bankruptcy.

Prior to its bankruptcy, Debt Relief USA marketed a "36-month” debt-free plan. Under their scheme, customers with thousands of dollars in unsecured debt were advised to simply stop paying their bills. Then, they were told to make monthly payments to Debt Relief USA, which promised to hold the money until it negotiated discounted pay-offs with creditors.

Because Debt Relief USA was collecting debt payments that it promised to use to pay off their debts in the future, the firm essentially collected "set-aside” funds from its customers. This practice is prohibited under the Texas Finance Code unless the firm has properly registered and has posted a bond with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner.

Unregistered

According to new research from computer scientists at the University of California, San Diego, the Web surfing history saved in your Web browser can be accessed without your permission.

JavaScript code deployed by real websites and online advertising providers use browser vulnerabilities to determine which sites you have and have not visited.

The researchers documented JavaScript code secretly collecting browsing histories of Web users through "history sniffing" and sending that information across the network.

While history sniffing and its potential implications for privacy violation have been discussed and demonstrated, the new work provides the first empirical analysis of history sniffing on the real Web.

"Nobody knew if anyone on the Internet was using history sniffing to get at users' private browsing history. What we were able to show is that the answer is yes," said UC San Diego computer science professor Hovav Shacham.

The computer scientists from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering presented this work in October at the 2010 ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS 2010) in a paper entitled, "An Empirical Study of Privacy-Violating Information Flows in JavaScript Web Applications."

History Sniffing

History sniffing takes place without your knowledge or permission and relies on the fact that browsers display links to sites you've visited differently than ones you haven't: by default, visited links are purple, unvisited links blue.

History sniffing JavaScript code running on a Web page checks to see if your browser displays links to specific URLs as blue or purple.

History sniffing can be used by website owners to learn which competitor sites visitors have or have not been to. History sniffing can also be deployed by advertising companies looking to build user profiles, or by online criminals collecting information for future phishing attacks.

Learning what banking site you visit, for example, suggests which fake banking page to serve up during a phishing attack aimed at collecting your bank account log-in information.

"JavaScript is a great thing, it allows things like Gmail and Google Maps and a whole bunch of Web 2.0 applications; but it also opens up a lot of security vulnerabilities. We want to let the broad public know that history sniffing is possible, it actually happens out there, and that there are a lot of people vulnerable to this attack," said UC San Diego computer science professor Sorin Lerner.

The latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Safari now block the history sniffing attacks the computer scientists monitored.

Internet Explorer however, does not currently defend against history sniffing.

In addition, anyone using anything but the latest versions of the patched browsers is also vulnerable.

Sniffing out History Sniffing

"We built a dynamic data flow engine for JavaScript to track history sniffing in the wild. I don't know of any other practical tool that can be used to do this kind of extensive study," said Dongseok Jang, the UC San Diego computer science Ph.D. student who developed the JavaScript monitoring technology.

The computer scientists looked for history sniffing on the front pages of the top 50,000 websites, according to Alexa global website rankings.

Their history-sniffing detection tool analyzed the JavaScript running on the page to identify and tag all instances where the browser history is being checked. The way the system tagged each of these potential history tracking events can be compared to the ink or paint packets that banks add to bags of money being stolen.

"As soon as a JavaScript tries to look at the color of a link, we immediately put 'paint' on that. Some sites collected that information but never sent it over the network, so there was all this 'paint' inside the browser. But in other cases, we observed 'paint' being sent over the network, indicating that history sniffing is going on," said Lerner.

The computer scientists only considered it history sniffing when the browser history information was sent over the network to a server.

They found that 485 of the top 50,000 sites inspect style properties that can be used to infer the browser's history. Out of 485 sites, 63 transferred the browser's history to the network.

"We confirmed that 46 of them are actually doing history sniffing, one of these sites being in the Alexa global top 100," the UC San Diego computer scientists write in the CCS 2010 paper.

In some cases, the websites created their own history sniffing systems. In other cases, advertisements served by outside companies contained JavaScript code performing the history sniffing.

History Sniffing in Perspective

The computer scientists say that history sniffing does not pose as great a risk to your privacy or identity as malicious software programs (malware) that can steal your banking information or your entire Facebook profile.

But, according to Shacham, "history sniffing is unusual in effectively allowing any site you visit to learn about your browsing habits on any other site, regardless if the two sites have any business relationship."

"I think people who have updated or switched browsers should now worry about things other than history sniffing, like keeping their Flash plug-in up to date so they don't get exploited. But that doesn't mean that the companies that have engaged in history sniffing for the currently 60 percent of the user population that is vulnerable to it should get a free pass," said Shacham.

Electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes), also called "electronic nicotine delivery systems," are increasingly used worldwide even though only sparse information is available on their health effects.

In the United States, e-cigarettes are readily available in shopping malls in most states and on the Internet. But how safe are e-cigarettes?

To address this question, researchers at the University of California, Riverside evaluated five e-cigarette brands and found design flaws, lack of adequate labeling, and several concerns about quality control and health issues.

They conclude that e-cigarettes are potentially harmful and urge regulators to consider removing e-cigarettes from the market until their safety is adequately evaluated.

Unlike conventional cigarettes, which burn tobacco, e-cigarettes vaporize nicotine, along with other compounds present in the cartridge, in the form of aerosol created by heating, but do not produce the thousands of chemicals and toxins created by tobacco combustion.

Nothing is known, however, about the chemicals present in the aerosolized vapors emanating from e-cigarettes.

"As a result, some people believe that e-cigarettes are a safe substitute for conventional cigarettes," said Prue Talbot, the director of UC Riverside's Stem Cell Center, whose lab led the research.

"However, there are virtually no scientific studies on e-cigarettes and their safety. Our study -- one of the first studies to evaluate e-cigarettes -- shows that this product has many flaws, which could cause serious public health problems in the future if the flaws go uncorrected."

Talbot, a professor of cell biology and neuroscience, was joined in the study by Anna Trtchounian, the first author of the research paper.

Together, they examined the design, accuracy and clarity of labeling, nicotine content, leakiness, defective parts, disposal, errors in filling orders, instruction manual quality and advertising for the following brands of e-cigarettes: NJOY, Liberty Stix, Crown Seven (Hydro), Smoking Everywhere (Gold and Platinum) and VapCigs.

The researchers' main observations are:

• Batteries, atomizers, cartridges, cartridge wrappers, packs and instruction manuals lack important information regarding e-cigarette content, use and essential warnings;
• E-cigarette cartridges leak, which could expose nicotine, an addictive and dangerous chemical, to children, adults, pets and the environment;
• Currently, there are no methods for proper disposal of e-cigarettes products and accessories, including cartridges, which could result in nicotine contamination from discarded cartridges entering water sources and soil, and adversely impacting the environment; and
• The manufacture, quality control, sales, and advertisement of e-cigarettes are unregulated.

More research needed

"More research on e-cigarettes is crucially needed to protect the health of e-cigarette users and even those who do not use e-cigarettes," said Kamlesh Asotra, a research administrator at UC TRDRP.

According to Asotra, virtually nothing is known about the toxicity of the vapors generated by e-cigarettes, contrary to the claims made by manufacturers that they're "safe."

"Until we know any thing about the potential health risks of the toxins generated upon heating the nicotine-containing content of the e-cigarette cartridges, the 'safety' claims of the manufacturers are dubious at best," said Asotra.

"Justifiably, more information about the potential toxic and health effects of e-cigarette vapors is necessary before the public can have a definitive answer about the touted safety of e-cigarettes. Hopefully, in the near future, scientists can provide firm evidence for or against the claimed 'safety' of e-cigarettes as a nicotine-delivery tool."

The study was funded by a grant to Talbot from the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) and the results appear in this month's issue of Tobacco Control.

A new University of Michigan study finds that we are much more likely to exaggerate our attendance at religious services than people in other countries.

"Americans have long been viewed as exceptionally religious compared to other nations in the developed world," said Philip Brenner, a research fellow at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR) and the author of the study. "But this study suggests that American religiosity may be exceptional not in terms of actual behavior, but rather in terms of identity.

Brenner said the gap between what we (and to a lesser extent, Canada) say and what we do is substantial, and has been so for the last several decades.

For the study, Brenner analyzed two types of evidence about religiosity for each country: conventional survey questions asking respondents how often they attend religious services, and time diary data recording Sunday activities.

The data, covering a period from 1975 to 2008, came from a variety of time use studies and cross-cultural surveys, including the ISR World Values Surveys and the American National Election Studies.

In addition to the United States and Canada, the countries studied were the Netherlands, Germany, France, Norway, Finland, Slovenia, Spain, Austria, Italy, Great Britain and Ireland.

While conventional survey data show high and stable American church attendance rates of about 35 to 45 percent, the time diary data over the past decade reveal attendance rates of just 24 to 25 percent -- a figure in line with a number of European countries.

America maintains a gap of 10 to 18 percentage points between what people say they do on survey questions, and what time diary data says they actually do, Brenner reports.

Canada fibs too

We aren't the only ones doing it, though. Our neighbors to the North fib about their religious service attendance, too.

The gaps in Canada resemble those in America, and in both countries, gaps are both statistically and substantively significant.

Outside of North America, the largest gaps are found in the Catholic countries of Europe, but even in high-attendance Ireland, the gap only ranges from about 4 to 8 points.

"The consistency and magnitude of the American gap in light of the multiple sources of conventional survey data suggests a substantive difference between North America and Europe in over-reporting," said Brenner.

Given these findings, Brenner notes, any discussion of exceptional American religious practice should be cautious in using terms like outlier and in characterizing American self-reported attendance rates from conventional surveys as accurate reports of behavior.

Rather, while still relatively high, American attendance looks more similar to a number of countries in Europe, after accounting for over-reporting.

"American religion may however, be considered exceptional in a new way in light of these findings: unlike the other countries examined, American behavior continues its consistent failure to match self-reported rates. American religiosity as an outlier is a concept that may be better applied to identity and self-concept rather than behavior," said Brenner.

The study appears in the forthcoming Public Opinion Quarterly.

With the growing popularity of energy drinks such as Red Bull, Monster, Burn and RockStar, especially among high school and college students, psychologists have been studying the effects of sugary, highly caffeinated drinks on young people.

College students in particular have been using these drinks to stay awake, help them study and cut the intoxicating effects of alcohol.

The latter use has sent dozens of young people to hospital emergency rooms, leading a handful of state liquor control boards recently to ban the drink Four Loko, which combined caffeine and alcohol.

"Several aspects of cognitive performance that show improvement under the influence of caffeine are attention, reaction time, visual search, psychomotor speed, memory, vigilance and verbal reasoning," said Cecile A. Marczinski, PhD, of Northern Kentucky University and co-author of the study "Acute Effects of a Glucose Energy Drink on Behavioral Control."

"The results of the current study illustrate that energy drinks can increase stimulation and decrease mental fatigue, suggesting that they may be used with alcohol to counteract the sedation associated with drinking."

The study, published in the December issue of the APA journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, included 80 college students (34 men and 46 women) between the ages of 18 and 40.

Some were given Red Bull 7, while others were given lower amounts of caffeine added to Squirt, a lemon-flavored decaffeinated soda that looks and tastes like Red Bull. Others were given plain Squirt as a placebo.

A half hour after finishing the drinks, participants took a computerized test in which they had to respond quickly to targets on a screen.

Participants were also asked how stimulated and mentally fatigued they felt after the drinks.

The students who were given Red Bull reported feeling more stimulated and less tired than the other participants, but their response rates were slower.

"This finding is of interest given that energy drinks are frequently mixed with alcohol and the acute effects of alcohol impair response inhibition," Marczinski said.

"Since regulation of energy drinks is lax in the United States in regard to content labeling and possible health warnings, especially mixed with alcohol, having a better understanding of the acute subjective and objective effects of these beverages is warranted."

In a second study reported in the same journal, Jennifer L. Temple, PhD, and colleagues at the University at Buffalo found boys and girls respond differently physiologically to caffeine.

In this experiment, 26 boys and 26 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 drank flattened Sprite containing caffeine at three concentrations: 50 mg, 100 mg or 200 mg. Flat Sprite with no caffeine was included as a placebo.

The youngsters were then tested for changes in their blood pressure and heart rate every 10 minutes for one hour.

At the end of the hour, they were given a questionnaire and an opportunity to eat all they wanted of different types of junk food: Skittles and Smarties (high sugar/low fat); potato chips and Doritos (low sugar/high fat); and M&Ms and Twix (high sugar/high fat).

Among boys, high caffeine consumers showed greater increases in their diastolic blood pressure than boys who ingested less caffeine. There was no relationship between blood pressure and caffeine consumption in girls.

In addition, those participants who ingested the most caffeine ate more high-sugar snack foods in the laboratory compared to low-caffeine consumers.

Boys and girls also had different reasons for consuming caffeine, the researchers found.

Boys were more likely than girls to say they consumed caffeine "to get energy," "to get a rush," and for "athletic performance."

"Adolescents are among the fastest growing consumers of caffeine and yet very few empirical studies have focused on this population," Temple said. "It is imperative that we understand the impact of caffeine use on adolescents."