It's the same old line: it's the consumers' fault, and soft drink companies have every right to keep making and advertising products that are now well known to promote chronic disease. They should have the right to sell those products in our public schools, too, the industry seems to be saying. Soft drinks "can be part of a balanced diet," they ridiculously insist.
It's all a big lie, of course. Soft drinks directly and inarguably cause obesity and diabetes, among other problems. They are products that cause illness and suffering, and yet they are sold without label warnings, and without any financial responsibility on the part of the soft drink manufacturers to repay the medical expenses incurred by consumers who suffer the consequences of long term soft drink consumption.
If all this sounds familiar, it should: it's the haunting echo of Big Tobacco, which continues to deny that nicotine is even addictive! Soft drink companies are no less ridiculous in denying that high fructose corn syrup doesn't promote obesity. Perhaps someday we'll see a panel of soft drink company CEOs testifying before Congress and swearing, right down the line, "I do not believe soft drinks cause obesity."
The bottom line: soft drinks are disease causing products. At the very least, they should be banned from all advertising and from being placed in schools or hospitals. Better yet, the FDA should require a large warning be placed on all soft drink cans or bottles, stating, "This product has been shown to promote obesity and diabetes." The soft drink industry, of course, will bitterly fight against any limitation on their "right" to keep pushing disease-promoting products onto our children and general public, but when enough soft drink customers start dying from obesity, we'll begin to see public pressure limiting the reach of soft drink companies.
Without a doubt, finding ways to limit the consumption of soft drinks would save our nation billions of dollars in future health care costs.