Plavix for some was like a placebo

It’s not that the uproar over Plavix hasn’t surfaced elsewhere — it has — but there’s a reason why it’s such a big deal here: demographics.

Many people in two of Hawaii’s larger population groups — Asians and Pacific Islanders — get a diminished effect or no effect from the anticoagulant drug. But they were never told, according to the lawsuit Hawaii officials filed against the manufacturers, and the state shelled out big bucks to cover drug prescriptions for those getting a state health benefit.

As a side note: The Plavix revenue stream already hit its peak two years ago, when generics were allowed on the market.

Do GMO-free folks eat Cheerios?

From another corner of the marketing world comes word that the Great Cheerios Experiment has failed.

More precisely, executives of General Mills, the company that owns the iconic cereal brand, knew the product was made of oats, which are not grown through the genetically modified organism (GMO) method.

But some of the sweetener was, so with a simple sourcing switch, the company was able to make the GMO-free boast on the packaging.

The reaction: a big yawn. No noticeable sales bump.

The takeaway from this is, what?

That anti-GMO people, like those who’ve pushed for labeling here, don’t buy Cheerios anyway?

That labeling won’t really affect people’s shopping habits?

Too soon to say.

At least it seems that, if you don’t love Cheerios or have a toddler at home demanding them, the no-GMOs label isn’t much of an inducement.