Health warning labels will not be required on sugary beverages sold in California. A bill that would have mandated them failed to get out of the Assembly Health Committee Tuesday.
Bill supporters said obesity, diabetes and tooth decay are on the rise in the United States and sugary drinks are the biggest reason. Democratic State senator Bill Monning says federal health studies have proven that consumer warning labels work. He says he’ll keep pursuing for sugary beverages.
“It has been efficacious with tobacco labeling and alcohol labeling combined with other public information, public health campaigns,” says Monning.
But Bob Ackerman with the California-Nevada Soft Drink Association says the bill singled out the soft drink industry while ignoring the calorie information it already puts on its products.
“That is good education for consumers, makes them more aware, and doesn’t demonize one set of beverages over another,” says Ackerman.
Bill supporters said the overconsumption of sugary drinks has been the leading source of the increased number of calories Americans have consumed in recent years.
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