Healthy Fruit Drinks On sale on Beach Road's new 'Pattaya Promenade'.

Laboratory tests by Mahidol University on 22 samples of orange juice found many contained dangerously high levels of sugar. The tests revealed some concentrated orange juice and orange-flavoured drinks contain 11 to 15 teaspoons of sugar per small bottle or pack, compared to about seven teaspoons per similar-sized can of carbonated drink. The Department of Medical Services recently reported that Thais consume excessive amounts of sugar, with an average of 20 teaspoons per person a day. The recommended health standard is no more than 10 teaspoons a day. An excessive intake of sugar can lead to increased a risk of many diseases, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The lab tests also found that the juices contained less vitamin C than claimed on the label. The Foundation for Consumers said consumers should switch to fresh fruit, such as guava, for vitamin C intake. A 100g serving of fresh guava contains up to 230mg of vitamin C.

Check your receipt!If you are buying goods at BigC, Carrefour, Tesco/Lotus or Tops Super check your receipt very carefully. Often the price on the shelf does not match the price on the receipt. And more often than not, the difference is at your disadvantage.Very often the advertised promotions last a few days only, but the stickers remain on the shelfes for weeks.

Thailand's problem with Soda Water Thailand bans alcohol during election days and Buddhist holidays. Because some Thais like to drink their Whisky with Soda Water, the lovely officials are banning Soda Water on those days too.

New law will protect customers. From Feb 20 2009 onwards, a new law will be in effect to ensure that consumers find it easier to file a suit for negligence, the Office of Consumer Protection Board announces. Consumers have the right to seek legal redress for purchased goods that are substandard and/or cause physical injuries the spokesman said. Consumers would simply have to file a complaint or ask authorised foundations to do so for them. With the new law, business operators will also be encouraged to improve the quality of their goods. The new law shifts the burden of proof on to the producers, importers and/or retailers of the goods.

Long-life
low-energy bulbs Buy the long-life low-energy bulbs here in Thailand.At homeWorks and other Shopping Centers you can get the good ones from Philips 2 to 3 times cheaper than in Europe! Prices start at about 63 Baht only.

Long-life
low-energy bulbs Global demand for fluorescent lamp tubes in 2008 is estimated at one billion units, and will increase to four billion tubes in 2015. Largely due to hiking oil prices. Philips is the largest global vendor of CFLs and currently has two production bases in Poland and India. Lite-On IT in Zhengjiang, eastern China, obtained OEM orders from Royal Philips Electronics, largely due to the pair's existing partnership in the manufacture of optical disc drives. Many of the mineral ores used as materials for CFL tubes can be sourced locally in Zhengjiang. Philips has been under intense price pressure for its lamps from Sanyo Electric, Osram and large retail channels.

Save US$1.8 trillion and 10 gigatons in carbon dioxide emissions. What the transistor was to the vacuum tube, the LED is to lighting technology. A study says that replacing incandescent and fluorescent bulbs with light-emitting diodes can reap enormous savings in cost. New York-based Smart Lighting Engineering Resource Center claims that replacing 80 percent of traditional lighting with LEDs over the next 10 years will result in savings of more than US$1.8 trillion or almost a billion barrels of oil in power plants that would otherwise produce 10 gigatons in carbon dioxide emissions...

In full contrast to nation wide advertisements:Your body can't absorb the Calcium in Soya Milk.Therefore: Calcium in Soya Milk is completely useless. FOX TV, March 23 2008.

After using the bicycle for 1 year only its joint flange got broken. Neither the seller nor the repairshops had a replacement part in stock, but all said a repair will cost between 1'200 and 1'800 Baht.
A motorcycle shop in Buri Ram did the repair for 150 Baht only...

Pedal got broken on a 2 months old bicycle. One week after the first pedal the second pedal got broken too... The pedals identification number: FP-826.
Friends told me, that not only Turbo face quality problems, the same happens with bicycles from L.A., A-One and Coppi too. Most Thai manufacturers know the word 'quality' only, but not its meaning. Warning: Tesco/Lotus and Carrefour are selling Bikeline branded pedals. The pedals don't fit most of the bicycle Tesco/Lotus or Carrefour are selling. The pedals threaded bolts are larger then the thread on their bicycles... A set of Bikline Pedals (FP-855) costs 129 Baht at Tesco/Lotus, but 79 Baht only at Carrefour (February 11 2009). If you are buying a bicycle check its brakes very carefully. Brakes on bicycles 'Made in Thailand' are mostly an useless accessory.