Content about ATLANTA

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Hamacher Resource Group on Tuesday announced it will present “Marketing Diabetes in the Retail Setting” June 21 at the Marketing Diabetes Prevention and Awareness Conference in Atlanta.

Dave Wendland, VP and part of the owners group at HRG, will share ideas about how retail pharmacies can collaborate with suppliers to bring innovation to the diabetes care category to better serve patients, capture incremental sales and significantly grow the category’s reach.

ATLANTA — The 2011-2012 influenza season was one of the mildest and latest seasons on record, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The peak percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illnesses of 2.4% was the lowest reported since the system began in its current format in 1997. The peak percentage of visits for ILI during those 14 seasons ranged from 3.2% for the 2002-2003 season to 7.7% during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

It’s an underappreciated fact that advertising drives store sales. Many marketers don’t appreciate just how critical it is. Here’s a secret: The “closer” to the store the advertising is, the more likely it is that retailers will see a direct correlation between advertising and sales.

ATLANTA — People with higher levels of education and higher income have lower rates of many chronic diseases compared with those with less education and lower income levels, according to "Health, United States, 2011" — the government’s annual comprehensive report on Americans’ health released Wednesday.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola’s Honest Tea brand began the rollout of its Not Too Sweet Tea, a traditional sweet tea with 40% less sugar and calories than the leading sweet teas. The new addition to Honest Tea’s lineup is brewed with organic black tea leaves and is sweetened with “just a tad” (25 g) of organic cane sugar and organic stevia. Each 16.9-fl.-oz. bottle contains 100 calories, compared with leading brands of sweet tea, which contain an average of 43 g of sugar and 174 calories per 16.9-fl.-oz. bottle.

ATLANTA — AK GlobalTech last month was recognized with a Best Product of the Show Award for its AlcoMate SafeGuard (AL2500) at the ECRM Home Health Care EPPS here.

The AlcoMate SafeGuard is a portable, personal breathalyzer designed for home use. Selling for $49.99 on Walgreens.com, the device has been certified for use by law enforcement by the Department of Transportation and carries a U.S. Coast Guard Approved certification. The three-digit LED results display is backlit for nighttime use, and no mouthpieces are necessary.

ATLANTA — The Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council on Monday published the final installment of its five-part report on social media, which suggested that grocery marketers significantly can leverage any social media participation by simply responding to tweets on Twitter and exploring the potential of professional networking site LinkedIn, where activity has been supercharged by the recession.

ATLANTA — Sprout Foods is broadening its current pouched baby food portfolio with the launch of a line of organic toddler meals.

The company said the toddler entrées offer a variety of nutritious, organic ingredients, including meats, whole grains, beans and fruits and vegetables, but are free from preservatives and additives. The lineup includes eight varieties, including:

• Pasta, zucchini and tomato sauce with beef;

• Vegetable and potato stew with beef;

ATLANTA — Sales of smoking-cessation products may realize a March boom following a recent government advertising campaign that encourages Americans to quit smoking.

One week following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's launch of its Tips from Former Smokers campaign, calls to the 1-800-QUIT-NOW quitline were up 130.4%, the agency reported Monday. Calls were up an additional 3.5% in the subsequent week.

A record 34,413 calls were fielded between March 26 and April 1, the CDC reported.

ATLANTA — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a patch for treating restless legs syndrome and Parkinson's disease.

UCB announced the FDA approval of Neupro (rotigotine) transdermal system advanced-stage idiopathic Parkinson's and moderate-to-severe restless legs syndrome.

ATLANTA — Mortality rates from all cancers combined continued to drop between 2004 and 2008 among men, women and children, according to the annual "Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2008."