San Francisco Law Singles Out Soft Drinks

Court denies a request to stop the city from requiring health warnings on soda advertisements.

May 19, 2016

NEW YORK – San Francisco is set to become the first U.S. city to require health warnings on advertisements for soda and other sugar-added drinks, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The new law, which takes effect on July 25, requires billboards, posters and bus shelters throughout the city to include the following: “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco.” The ordinance requires the health warnings to cover 20% of public advertisements. Television, radio ads, beverage packaging and menus are exempt.

The American Beverage Association, California Retailers Association and California State Outdoor Advertising Association filed a civil complaint in July 2015, arguing that the health warning requirement violated free speech rights under the First Amendment. However, on May 17, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen denied a request for a preliminary injunction, saying that the plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment claim or to suffer irreparable harm if the ordinance goes into effect, writes the news source.

Judge Chen wrote that the city “has a legitimate interest in public health and safety’’ and that the city “had a reasonable basis’’ for identifying sugar-sweetened beverages as a cause of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay, notes the Journal.

The American Beverage Association, with members including Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Dr Pepper Snapple, said it will continue challenging the ordinance in court. “We are disappointed in the Court’s ruling on our motion for a preliminary injunction as we believe that the City of San Francisco’s mandate violates the constitutional rights of a select group by unfairly discriminating against one particular category of products, based on one ingredient found in many other products,” the association said in a statement.

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