Due to public health concerns and import costs, coffee prohibition was introduced in Finland/Sweden during the 18th century. After the ban was lifted two condemned men were reprieved. One was put on daily consumption of coffee and the other acted as a control. Both were lost to follow up 20 years later when they left prison without any signs of harmful effects including colorectal cancer. This study highlights the difficulties in assessing the impact of coffee on health—the need for long term follow up, a strictly controlled environment to ensure that controls are not exposed to any coffee products, and the problem of sufficient statistical power. In spite of the lack of any adverse effects in the Swedish study, the notion that coffee is bad for you has been a dogma among physicians since the 18th century; one …