A legislation that would require soft drinks makers to put warning labels on energy drinks and sugary sodas moved forward Friday to the California state legislature, upon receiving a 5-2 vote from the senate appropriations committee.
It is now gearing up for a possible vote next week in the state senate.
Said bill, known as SB 1000 or Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Safety Warning Act, aims to remind and persuade people nationwide to consume less soda or sugary drinks, which have led to lifestyle-related health conditions such as diabetes, obesity and tooth decay. If it sees enactment, the SB 1000 would place the state of California at forefront of an expanding nationwide crusade to restrict the consumption of sugary and high-calorie drinks.
"This is a major victory for public health advocates, community groups, physicians, and dentists," Democratic State Senator Bill Monning says. "By informing consumer choice, we can improve the health of Californians."
State Senator Monning, who is representing the entire counties of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo and partly the counties of Santa Clara and Monterey, authored the SB 1000 with support from California Center for Public Health Advocacy, community groups and doctors. He explained how it became a personal crusade for him and his wife.
"I've worked with underserved communities all of my professional life. My wife is a public health physician in the Salinas Valley and we have both watched in amazement the growing trends of obesity leading to preventable diabetes, so I would say it's a concern..." Senator Monning says to KCBX FM Radio in an aired phone interview.
Testifying last April on behalf of California Nevada Soft Drink Association, Lisa Katic however argues that the primary source of extra sugars in the American diets are not brought by soda consumption, but by hamburgers and sandwiches. She adds that such bill, regardless of its good intentions, "will do nothing to prevent obesity, diabetes or tooth decay, and may even make problems worse."
In 2013, Senator Monning also backed another measure to tax sugary drinks. Such efforts, however, were faced with strong resistance from the food and beverage industry in the country.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City also headed a citywide sales ban on oversized sugary soda in 2012 but was met with opposition by soft drinks makers and a group of restaurants. A state judge declared the mayor's move to ban such drinks as illegal, but the state's highest court agreed to hear an appeal.
Back in 2005, California already banned junk food and sodas from being sold in public schools. Many medical practitioners blame the rise of childhood obesity from the consumption of such beverages.
When the SB 1000 or Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Safety Warning Act reaches the senate floor, there will be a final vote seen as early as Wednesday. If the bill is ratified, it would require all cans and bottles of sugary beverages to put this warning label: "Drinking beverages with added sugars contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay." Any distributor or seller who violates the act by not carrying the warning label would be prohibited from any kind of distribution, transfer or sale, among other restrictions stated in the proposed bill.
