San Francisco lawmakers try new tacks to curb soda drinking

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco lawmakers are taking another stab at curbing soda consumption seven months after local voters rejected taxing sugary drinks in the name of public health.

A Board of Supervisors committee is expected to take up three pieces of legislation today that represent a new front in the sweetened-beverage wars.

One proposed measure would require soda ads posted on buses, billboards and other city surfaces to carry warnings stating that drinks with added sugar contribute to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. The rule also would apply to sports venues.

The other laws under consideration would ban soda ads on public property and prohibit city funds from being used to buy soda.

Industry groups that spent $10 million to defeat the proposed soda tax on the San Francisco ballot last November plan to fight the bills, American Beverage Association spokesman Roger Salazar said.

"We believe that all sugars are the same," Salazar said. "No one product can be singled out more than anything else."

A bill that would have required health warning labels on individual bottles and cans of sugar-sweetened drinks sold in California, the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Safety Warning Act, was introduced in the state Senate this year. It died in committee on a tie vote with one abstention.