Are oreos addictive as cocaine?

Yes, according to headlines from scores of news sources, including NBC, CBS, Time and The Wall Street Journal. No, if you read the otherwise decent reporting and learn that the study was on laboratory rats. The website at Connecticut College has it right in the headline, which clearly states the study was in rats.

Headlines suggest Oreos are addictive as cocaine.

Thanks again to Gary Schwitzer at HealthNewsReview.org for shedding light on the media practice of misleading headlines regarding scientific research. As a Minneapolis PR firm specializing in healthcare PR and food & beverage PR, we understand the need to tread carefully when promoting scientific research for our clients.

Even good reporters may have nothing to do with the headline written for their story, and the resulting issues can be thorny.

Could this have been avoided? Maybe not, as the addictive qualities of Oreos is a credible concept to anyone who has eaten them – they’ve got 34 million Likes on Facebook. And, the desire of headline writers to attract readers.

Good communications with the media always help, but for something like this it’s good to think through how the media will handle a story and plan accordingly.

As for me, I like Oreos but still miss Hydrox.