[vendtalk] NY CIty Not Alone With Attacks on Beverages

[Vandervoort's]

As an FYI on the New York City limitation on drinks sold in vending machines
on City Property is the recent Hawaiian program contained in the following
news article.  It is another approach to limit intake of sugary beverages
but makes use of Federal Tax dollars to do so.  Interesting that the
Hawaiian view is that most of the problem lies with sugary drinks and does
not say anything about diet drinks or milk the way the NYC edict does.  It
is just another popular "view" that doing such things will, somehow, make us
all healthy again.  Interestingly, you can still drink all of the "healthy"
beer you want because it is not a sugary drink. 

Source: Vending Times
Issue Date: Vol. 51, No. 6, June 2011, Posted On: 6/7/2011 
Emily Jed
Emily at vendingtimes.net  

Hawaii Launches 'Don't Drink Yourself Fat' Campaign

HONOLULU -- Hawaii's health department has kicked off a public awareness
campaign aimed at discouraging consumption of sugary beverages, which
officials say is a prime culprit behind the state's growing obesity
epidemic. 

The "Don't Drink Yourself Fat" media campaign, led by the Kauai and Maui
District Health Offices and funded by a $3.4 million federal grant, is also
being used to promote consumption of locally grown produce and encourage
physical activity. 

Hawaii's adult obesity rate more than doubled between 1995 and 2009, or from
10.8% of the population to 22.9%. In 2003 Hawaii spent a reported $290
million on obesity-related medical costs, and health officials point to
sugar-sweetened beverages as a big contributor. 

Hawaiian health officials claim that Americans now consume 200 to 300 more
calories a day on average than they did three decades ago, and that nearly
half of those extra calories come from sugar-sweetened drinks. 

The beverage industry argues that singling out soft drinks as the sole cause
of obesity is unfair. The American Beverage Association claims that the
total calories from all sugar-sweetened soft drinks only count for 7% of the
average American diet.