CVS is going to stop selling tobacco products

[fireheart17]

Yes. I worked with someone who got e-cigs and said the gum and patches didn't work for him because part of his "enjoyment" was the actual action of putting a cigarette in his mouth and inhaling. This device was a good substitute, he thought. Plus, the office allowed him to do it indoors and nobody complained, so he liked that he was more productive.
.

There is a device out there that mimics the feel of a cigarette, but is a stop smoking aid. The idea is that you stick a cartridge into the device whenever you get the urge (each one is good for around 40 minutes use) and then gradually taper down over time. You can also do it indoors. If you guys get them in the US, it's the Nicorette Inhalator.

[wolfie]

A cane sugar soda for me is a rare treat because its as heavy as a meal appetite wise. But its much easier to fine cane sugar soda up here than there I imagine.

Fairly soon, and for a short period of time, it'll get even easier. Check out grocery stores in Jewish neighbourhoods - HFCS doesn't "cut the mustard" for the heavy-duty kosher used around Passover. As a result, "Kosher for Passover" sodas use cane sugar rather than HFCS. Also, aspartame is not "K4P", so if you want a diet soda without aspartame look for the "Kosher for Passover" label.

[HYHYBT]

Any idea why aspartame isn't Passover kosher, or what they use in diet soda instead?

[wolfie]

Nope. I don't keep kosher (the only people who would consider me Jewish got their asses kicked in the early-to-mid 1940s). When buying my "real sugar" soda last year, I looked at the label on a diet soda, and the ingredients list had a disclaimer after "aspartame" that said it was used in the "everyday Kosher" version, but not the "Kosher for Passover" version. Didn't recognize any other ingredient as being a sweetener.

[siead_lietrathua]

i was trying to look up why aspartame isn't kosher, but i just keep finding brands that are passover-kosher like NutraSweet.
it really looks liek the only diffrence is that some aspertime that comes to Coke is in cases marked "kosher for passover" and some aren't.

ahhh, here we go "Diet Coke uses aspartame as a sweetener, which also contains some corn derivatives. For that reason, Sephardic Jews are allowed to drink it at Passover, but Ashkenazi Jews are not." http://www.thestar.com/life/2009/04/...ifference.html

"Is NatraTaste kosher?
Yes. NatraTaste is considered kosher and parve by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis. It is not considered kosher for Passover.
Why is NatraTaste not considered Kosher for Passover?
NatraTaste contains dextrose with maltodextrin, carbohydrates derived from corn. These ingredients make the product not kosher for Passover because corn or corn derivatives are not allowed for Passover. You may wish to use a sugar substitute that has been made with a special blend so that it is kosher for Passover, such as Sweet’N Low kosher for Passover."
http://www.rdimarketing.com/Intranet...aTaste_FAQ.htm

so it's all about corn in the end.

[Gravekeeper]

It looks like it has something to do with the machinery used by Coke. The normal machinery is not Kosher due to cross contamination with other products ( Such as corn syrup I suppose ). So pass-over Diet Coke is made on a separate set of machinery and thus Kosher despite using aspartame.

[wolfie]

I stand corrected. When I saw the ingredients list that included aspartame with the disclaimer that it wouldn't be present in "Kosher for Passover" versions, I assumed (and you know what happens when you assume) that the aspartame itself, not an ingredient that came mixed with it from the supplier, was not kosher for Passover.