There is nothing the nanny state cares about quite as much as Big Gulps.
California is moving on from taxing sodas and sugary drinks and is instead turning their attention to slapping warning labels on the beverages.
California Senate Majority Leader Bill Monning (D-Carmel) introduced a proposal last week to put warnings on beverages containing added sweeteners with at least 75 calories per 12 ounces. The labels would read: “STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay,” the Huffington Post reported.
Monning said these labels are necessary for the safety of Californians “given the rock solid scientific evidence showing the dangers of sugary beverages.”
“The State of California has a responsibility to inform consumers about products proven to be harmful to the public’s health,” Monning said in a press release. “This bill will give Californians the at-a-glance information they need to make more healthful choices every day.”
Monning introduced this warning label bill last year, but it failed to pass.
But he is hoping that the national attention gained by the nation’s first soda tax in Berkeley and a failed initiative in San Francisco that he will have more luck this time around.
“Does it stand a chance? Yes. Do the Berkeley and San Francisco examples give it some momentum? Yes,” Gerston said. “Once the genie’s out of the bottle, it’s a lot easier to do it the second time around,” he told HuffPo.
New York City under the direction of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg also tried to come after large sodas.
New York City’s health department barred the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces in 2012. Bloomberg had touted the department’s ban as a way to fight obesity during his tenure, but the courts eventually struck it down.
