US city bans sugary soft drinks

The city of Boston in the US has banned sales of sugary drinks from being sold on city property. The move follows an earlier ban on the selling of fast food and sugary drinks from vending machines in Boston public schools.
The mayor of Bosto, Thomas Menino, has also ordered that all advertising, sales, and promotion of soft drinks with added sugar is to be phased out over the next six months, as he found research linking the consumption of unhealthy soft drinks and the increase in both obesity and healthcare costs to be worrying.
A press release issued by the mayor stated the desire “to create a civic environment that makes the healthier choice the easier choice in people’s lives, whether it’s schools, worksites, or other places in the community.”
Boston will soon have a new, colour-coded scheme for identifying the potential healthiness of drinks on sale on city property, with yellow-marked drinks including 100 per cent juice drinks, soy milk and low-cal sports drinks, while green drinks include bottled water, low-fat milk, unsweetened soy milk and seltzer water.
Nancy Norma, chief medical officer at the Boston Public Health Commissio, said “Many people are unaware that a single, 20-ounce regular soda contains 17 teaspoons of sugar .”