Nuclear War Talk Prompts ‘Radiation Blocking’ Pills Sales To Skyrocket
Sales of potassium iodide pills, known popularly for their reported ability to ward off radiation sickness, spiked in the wake of nuclear war rhetoric between North Korea and US President Donald Trump that made international headlines in the first few days of the new year. Purchases of the pills also follow a continuing trend of popular thinking that some form of conflict will occur between the US and North Korea in the near future.
NPR reported this week that the nuclear war of words between the leader of North Korea, via his words issued during his annual new year’s address, and President Trump, posted on his Twitter page, seemed to have prompted a marked increase in demand for potassium iodide, the over-the-counter medication that protects against radiation poisoning. One online retailer, www.nukepills.com, noted that its sales in sodium iodide in just two days (140,000 dosage orders), also known as “KI,” increased by nearly 17 times its average weekly shipping order. CEO Troy Jones told NPR that without Trump’s tweet, the company’s shipments would have been around 8,400.
For those who missed President Trump’s tweet that allegedly generated the jump in radiation pill sales:
North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018
Jones said that a month’s supply of potassium iodide sold out in 48 hours.
Alan Morris, who is the president of the Williamsburg, Va.-based pharmaceutical company Anbex Inc., another potassium iodide distributor, told NPR that he, too, saw a jump in demand.
“We are a wonderful barometer of the level of anxiety in the country.”
Unfortunately for those purchasers, potassium iodide is only effective in combating only 0.2 percent of the potential harmful radiation that would result from the detonation of a nuclear weapon, according to Business Insider.
Last week, the Inquisitr reported on polls that continued to reflect the prevailing fear that the United States was headed for war — possibly escalating to nuclear war — under the prevailing foreign policies of the Trump administration.
Nuclear war fears continued to fill the headlines in the past week. Hawaii sounded the alarm that it was under missile attack.
It is as yet unclear if the recent false alarm of a missile attack on Hawaii had an effect on radiation pills sales. Although the state admitted to mistakenly sounding the alarm, Hawaiian legislator Tulsi Gabbard told CNN’s State Of The Union (per The Guardian) that the “underlying issue” is that the US is facing a nuclear war threat from North Korea — a direct result of the policies of the Trump administration.
