France Bans Free Soda Refills

The move is intended to combat obesity.

January 31, 2017

NEW YORK – France has banned the practice of providing free refills on sodas and other sugary beverages as part of an effort to combat obesity, reports the New York Times. The new law is in line with World Health Organization recommendations that urge countries to impose a tax on sugary drinks to battle an increase in obesity, notes the news source.

France has been at the forefront of tackling the issue, along with countries like Japan, where a national law requires companies and local governments to measure the waistlines of people between the ages of 40 and 74, and to encourage them to exercise.

All public eateries, from fast-food restaurants to school cafeterias, are affected by the new law.

The Times notes that the new law has divided the French, who consume fewer soft drinks per capita than residents of most other countries. “Each person has to take responsibility,” a 21-year-old man told Le Parisien newspaper. Restaurants “might as well put scales in front of each fast-food joint,” he added.

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