‘Manipulative And Antidemocratic’: UCSF Doctors Slam Strategy Employed By Beverage Industry To Avoid Soda Taxes
The American Beverage Association spent $7 million to gather signatures for an initiative on the November 2018 ballot that would have required a two-thirds majority for approval of new California state and local taxes. The association offered to remove the initiative from the ballot if then-Gov. Jerry Brown agreed to sign into law AB1838, which would preemptively ban new or increased taxes on food or nonalcoholic beverages for 13 years.
San Francisco Chronicle:
UCSF Scientists Decry Beverage Industry’s Preemption Of Soda Taxes
Doctors at UCSF have taken aim at the sugar-sweetened beverage industry, warning that a political tactic it has employed in California and three other states could have a devastating impact on public health. The country’s first voter-approved soda tax was passed in Berkeley in 2014. Yet California is also one of four states that has since banned cities and localities from imposing new taxes on sugary beverages, because of pressure from the soda industry. (Duggan, 1/22)
In other public health news —
LAist:
It's 2019, Let's Just Say Out Loud That Breastfeeding Is Hard
As you probably know, there is no shortage of boob science about the nutritional benefits of breastmilk and its role in reducing the risk of developing things like diabetes and asthma in kids. For moms, it's linked to a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancers. In short, it's healthy.There's also no shortage of reasons why some women don't breastfeed. (Faust, 1/23)