In “the opening shot of 2017,” health advocates filed suit in federal court in Oakland, Calif., accusing Coca-Cola and the trade group American Beverage Association of deceiving consumers of the health risk of sugary drinks by saying there was no link between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, says Quartz. Coca-Cola said the lawsuit was “legally and factually meritless.”
“The suit comes after a year of defeats for the soda industry,” said Quartz. The industry lost every public vote on soda taxes in 2016. “Those measures don’t look to be fizzling out either — word has it that a soda-tax proposal is imminent in Santa Fe, NM.,” said Quartz.
The lawsuit compared soda industry practices “to the tobacco industry’s past efforts in minimizing the health effects of its products and targeting children to replenish the ranks of its customers,” said Bloomberg. The suit was filed on behalf of Praxis Project, a nonprofit, with representation from three consumer and public health groups, including Center for Science in the Public Interest.