San Francisco Supervisor Battles Big Soda With New Round Of Legislation
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— Some San Francisco supervisors still haven't given up on making it tougher for soda makers to make a buck in the City. On Monday, the Land Use Committee will get its first look at three pieces of legislation that would make it harder to get sugary drinks.
Last November San Francisco lost a hard-fought battle against the beverage industry to impose a soda tax that would have raised money to fight obesity, but also have made it tough for makers of boutique sodas and mixers to make a buck.
The legislation, being introduced by Supervisor Scott Wiener requires warning labels, much like cigarette labels on all soda advertising on city property, billboards, buses and Muni shelters.
"We need to make sure that we are giving people good information about the health consequences of over consuming sugary drinks. Even drinking one or two cans of soda a day increases your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 26 percent.
Another proposal is to ban soda ads on public property and prohibit city funds from being used to buy soda. Last year the soda industry spent $10 million to defeat San Francisco's soda tax proposal. It also helped squash a bill in the State Legislature to require warning labels on all containers of sugary drinks.