San Francisco is to become the first US city to rule that health warnings must be included in outdoor adverts for soda and other sugary drinks, following a court ruling.
A judge in San Francisco has refused to grant an injunction blocking a city law which requires ads for such drinks to carry a health warning label.
The law will be introduced on July 25 and applies to outdoor advertising, including billboards, bus shelters and vehicles.
The rule does not impact packaging, menus, newspaper and magazine advertisements or TV adverts.
Drinks' manufacturers will now have to include the warning “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" in such advertising.
The warning must cover 20 percent of the area of the ad, the rule states, and comes amid calls from health campaigners to cut the levels of sugary drinks consumption in San Francisco and the US.
The ruling can be appealed and the American Beverage Association, who applied for the injunction, still has the right to have a full trial on the lawsuit at a later date.
“The warning required by the city ordinance is factual and accurate, and the city had a reasonable basis for requiring the warning given its interest in public health and safety,” US district judge Edwards Chen wrote in his decision.
The American Beverage Association, California Retailers Association and California State Outdoor Advertising Association, who were the parties involved in filing the lawsuit in 2055, argue that the ruling violates their right of free speech.
The American Beverage Association said: “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.”
