Topic > Food and Health: Sugar-Laden Drinks

The author, Ponice Rustch, reintroduces herself, as well as her position, on sugar-laden drinks with these statements: “We've said it before and we'll say it again: we consuming much more sugar than is good for our health. Because of this, the next generation of Americans will struggle with obesity and diabetes more than any other. The most obvious culprit is added sugar in sodas and other sweetened beverages, such as sports drinks or tea. “Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayRustch firmly believes that Americans consume more sugar in our drinks than is good for our health. One idea proposed by public health advocates to reduce sugar consumption was to tax drinks that contained a certain amount of added sugar. Another proposal of theirs was to reduce the size of soda glasses. The latest idea from New York and California lawmakers is a warning label—they're creating labels for sugar-rich beverages like soda and energy drinks that are similar to labels you'd see on cigarette packs or bottles of alcohol. Contributors believe that drinks that contain added sugars and 75 or more calories in a 12-ounce serving should have the label. Discussing the labeling law with Salt, Bill Monning, leader of the California Senate, says: "We just have to say if we're talking about these health issues it's good for the consumer to know too." He also adds, “It could mitigate how often [consumers] would buy these products.” What Bill Monning is saying here about the label is that he is trying to make consumers aware of what they are consuming and putting into their bodies. The article also contains an image of what the label would look like, including the following information about the contents of the drink: "California State Safety Alert: Drinking beverages with added sugars contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay." This label is Monning's second attempt to enter the California state legislature after being stymied last year. Around the same time as Bill Monning, a New York state legislator named Jeffrey Dinowitz tried to pass a similar bill through the state assembly. “Dinowitz is more confident about the label bill because it seems more doable.” (Rustch, para. 10) Dinowitz notes that, “We're not banning anything, we're not telling anyone you can't drink cups, it's a simple warning.” (Rustch, para. 11) Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, an organization focused on fighting obesity, sponsored the bill. Goldstein says, “The body absorbs liquid sugar in sodas and other beverages much faster than sugars in other foods, reaching blood sugar levels in as little as 30 minutes. It's much easier to drink teaspoons of sugar in a soda than to eat it. And sugar doesn't make you feel full, like fat or protein might. I increasingly think of these products as diabetes in a bottle." With these labels, sugary drinks are compared to products like cigarettes. Goldstein's goal is to share the success of the anti-tobacco campaign, the number of smokers in the United States has steadily declined since the label's first appearance in 1965. Likewise The Anti-Tobacco Campaign and the Anti-Soda Campaign they have their opposition in the beverage industry. As Rusch says, “The American Beverage Association has.”