soda

An on-line survey of more than 2,000 teenagers found they would cut back on soft drink purchases if they came with a warning label about the possibility of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay, say researchers from the University of Pennsylvania medical school. Earlier this year, the research team said parents were less likely to buy sugary beverages for their children if warning labels were attached.

In a study of the Berkeley's first-in-the-nation soda tax, researchers found that lower-income residents had reduced their consumption by 21 percent, compared to the pre-tax days, the Los Angeles Times reported. The study, published Tuesday in the American Journal of Public Health, looked at the impact of the tax in the first five months after it went into effect.

Sugary drinks, such as full-calorie soda, are usually cheaper per ounce than milk, says a team of researchers from Drexel University that looked at beverage prices in 1,743 supermarkets in 41 states. The difference was most pronounced in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of black and Hispanic residents.

Vermont broadcaster WCAX-TV says Coca-Cola, the largest soft drink company in the world, "is advising stores that some of its products, like individual cans and bottles, will no longer be available" when the state's GMO food-label law goes into effect on Friday.

IA San Francisco federal judge ruled that the city has the right to force sugary beverage companies to post health warnings in display ads for their products, says The San Francisco Chronicle. The law, which is the first in the nation, was challenged in court by the American Beverage Association, the California Retailers Association and the California State Outdoor Advertising Association. It will take effect on July 25th.

A third city in the San Francisco Bay area will vote whether to put a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, predominantly soda. This time, the November referendum will be in Oakland, neighbor to Berkeley, the first and only city in the nation to adopt a soda tax.

Mexico's soda tax is kicking in, cutting sales of sugary beverages, says the New York Times, citing a study published in the journal BMJ this week. Mexico has the highest proportion of overweight or obese adults among developed countries, about 70 percent, and the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes, according to the OECD.

Baltimore city officials are considering whether businesses selling soda and other sugary drinks should be required to post warning signs about the drinks, reports the Associated Press.

Maine is seeking permission from the USDA to bar the purchase and soda and candy with food stamps, even though nine other states have had such requests turned down, says the Portland Press Herald.

An early review of the penny-per-ounce soda tax in Berkeley, California, approved by voters last year, says that it has not raised soda prices as much as expected, says Civil Eats. In fact, prices rose by less than half of the expected amount and for some drinks, less than a quarter.

Mexicans reduced their purchases of sugary beverages by 6 percent following implementation of a one-peso-per-liter tax on sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda, according to a study by the Mexican National Institute of Public Health and the University of North Carolina.

Disqualifying sugary drinks, such as soda, from purchase under the food-stamp program would have little impact on consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, say USDA researchers.

To help people choose healthier meals, some cafeterias are using "traffic light" labels on their food, writes Tove Danovich at Civil Eats. At Massachusetts General Hospital, which adopted the approach in 2009, sales of sodas and other beverages marked "red" fell significantly in two years.

Coca-Cola, a giant in the world of soda and other bottled beverages, will launch a brand-name, premium milk, called Fairlife, in 2015, says Bloomberg.