Consumer group wants health warnings on soft drinks

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a U.S. consumer group, are petitioning the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for warnings to be placed on soft drinks in order to alert consumers of the dangers of too much sugar.

The CSPI say that apart from making people fat, those who overindulge in soft drinks are also more likely to develop diabetes and have decaying teeth.

The group want cigarette-style warnings on the drinks and say they are particularly needed to counter the growing number of young people who drink soda.

CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson says, that in the past, soda pop used to be an occasional treat, he also says that it is all calories with no nutrients.

Jacobson says that the latest government data from 2002 shows teenage boys drink an average of two 12-ounce cans of soda a day compared to about 1.33 cans for teenage girls.

However food and beverage industry groups have rejected the call for warnings, saying obesity has complex causes and packages already list calories and ingredients.

Susan Neeley, head of the American Beverage Association (ABA), says that individuals and not the government, are in the best position to make the food and beverage choices that are right for them.

The industry-funded Center for Consumer Freedom, along with other groups, says that regulating sodas would limit consumer choice.

Although some firms have reintroduced smaller packages, the CSPI says cheap prices and multiple-serving bottles, attract consumers.

According to Jacobson, government warnings are needed to encourage the public to follow a healthier diet, just as aggressively as the soft drink industry, the fast food industry and others push people in the other direction.

FDA officials and major food and drink companies, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury Schweppes, have as yet not commented.