Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino has issued an executive order to ban soda and sugary drinks from all city-owned properties.
Over the next six months, the city will remove all sugary beverages from cafeterias, vending machines, and meetings. Also, to help residents and public employees live healthier lives, the Boston Public Health Commission will affix red, yellow, and green labels to drinks. Red drinks are all non-diet sodas, and sugary drinks like teas, and sports drinks. Low-calorie drinks qualify for a yellow label. Green drinks are water and milk (low fat or unsweetened soy).
Cities like San Antonio, San Francisco, LA and New York have all set new standards to curb the consumption of sugary drinks. (Philadelphia failed to pass a beverage tax meant to cut obesity rates and raise funds earlier this year.)
Sugary drinks account for 1o percent of the caloric content of the average American’s diet and are one of the leading factors contributing to obesity. In support of the Mayor’s plan, Dr. Barbara Ferrer of the Public Health Commission noted that the medical costs for an obese patient are nearly 42 percent higher a year than for a patient who maintains an average or healthy weight.
The executive order will also serve to curb the massive amounts of waste all those plastic-bottled drinks create.
