During a recent visit to the United States, I was impressed by several advertising campaigns. The American Beverage Association (ABA) is running a series of spots that alternatingly complain of what it deems the over-regulation of soft drinks and promote the efforts of member manufacturers to make their products less conspicuously unhealthy, the idea being that consumers know what they want better than politicians or bureaucrats do. In a similar vein, I saw many commercials for class action suits by lawyers groups soliciting viewers who may have suffered adverse effects from specific drugs or medical treatments. Suing hospitals and pharmaceutical companies is big business.