[2005] According to Newsweek (2005) Sugar is a $780M market in US. 

EXCERPT
Monday June 18, 2001

                Rat Studies Show Evidence of 'Sugar Dependence'

                TORONTO (Reuters Health) - Could many of us be slaves to our sweet
                tooth? New research in rats suggests that the brain can become dependent, if
                not outright addicted, to sugars in food.

                ``The brain has opioid compounds and they seem to be released by palatable
                tastes such as sugar, fat, ice cream, cake,'' explained Dr. Bart Hoebel, a
                researcher at Princeton University.

                The result? Compared with rats fed regular chow, sugar-fed rats developed
                ``mild'' symptoms indicative of withdrawal, such as teeth-chattering, an
                increased frequency of high-pitched crying and anxiety. And when
                researchers allowed these rats renewed access to sugar they
                ``binged''--consuming up to 30% of their daily sugar intake within the first
                hour of re-introduction.

                    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Excess sugar in the blood appears to 

                    increase the production of free radicals--byproducts of normal metabolism
                    that have been linked to aging and heart disease, US researchers report.

                    High sugar levels trigger increased free-radical production by white
                    blood cells, leading to arterial damage and blocked arteries, the authors note.

A friend food scientist working for major cereal company said 45% of breakfast cerels is sugar. There are ongoing projects to increase sugar level because sugar is cheap and you can sell it at the price of cereal, and in consumer tests people always prefer the sweeter samples.

           hey thanks for the stuff,,,i will read it and study it don't know if i'll stop
    using it,,,my body needs it,,,,i want it,,,,and it is of course sugar,,,,now will
    i read it with bias yes yes indeed,,,,as i sit here eating just rice...oopppsss
    jeff just gave me some choc cake,,,,uh i guess i will eat that too,,,,,thanks for
    the pictures i'm looking for a women with a vail,,,,tmac

Hello Reza,

thanks for you mail : Long ago I read a book by Gloria Swanson's husband
(I don't recall his name right now) titled SUGAR BLUES. In this book he
explained that sugar is a drug leading to addiction, hallucinations like
every other drug  (diabetes f.i.). He said that the sugar business is
the most important drug business on earth ; also that the American are
as a population in the pre-diabetic state. He says that pratically all
our non-fresh food is 'tainted' with sugar, even cigaret leaves are
hauled through a sugar-fumes tunnel before being put into their boxes.
He himself was sick until far in his fourties I think it was, and at
last he got the idea that maybe sugar was at the base of his misery. So
he examined his fridge and had to throw almost everything away. He
started to eat without sugar and had a weird withdrawal symptom : he got
all his illnesses (colds, arthirtis, pain in the bones etc) in rapid
succession and less severe, and they cured spontaneously. Since then he
was never ill again ; by now he must have died of old age.
So I think the new findings are an educated version of his findings,
very interesting and serious.
<Snip>
Kind regards from Magda (S.)