San Fran Says Goodbye to Soda Ads

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San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 to some of the most restricted legislation on soda in the country. The laws approved require that all ads within city property include warning labels, require a ban on soda advertising, and prohibit the spending of city money on soda.

The American Beverage Association (ABA) has declared to the Federal Courts that the bans are unconstitutional and that they disregard the first and fourth amendments. ABA also stated in a recent article, that these bans also violate due-process rights, stating that the nutritional science that the laws are based on are ever changing and could eventually be proven wrong. Although various studies across the globe have shown that sugary beverages like sodas have no nutritional value and have been proven to add to diet-related health risks. Recent studies show that with each extra sugary drink, Latino kids risk of being an obese adult jumps to 60 percent.

The warning ads approved by the city would state the link between sugary beverages and their contribution to diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. Warning labels will be required on all soda ads on city billboards, buses, transit shelters, posters and stadiums.

The city of San Francisco (15.3% Latino) is working hard to make sure their young citizens see advertising that promotes health. Supervisor Malia Cohen, was quoted in a recent article, “Our residents, particularly our youth, deserve to be in an environment where residents are exposed to advertisements and messages that promote health, not harmful substances,” she said.