ABA Sues San Francisco Over Soda Tax

WASHINGTON -- The American Beverage Association has filed a lawsuit against San Francisco, claiming the new regulation that requires warning labels on ads for sugar-sweetened beverages is unconstitutional.

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed the ordinance in June. It will apply to ads on city billboards, buses, transit shelters, posters and stadiums. The mandatory warning reads:

"WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay."

The legislation also prohibits the use of city funds to purchase sugary beverages.

Public health officials have also launched "The Open Truth" campaign, which puts ads on public buses and bus stations throughout San Francisco, warning consumers of the alleged health risks associated with soda consumption.

ABA asserts in its lawsuit that the city is free to try to persuade consumers to adopt its opinions about sugar-sweetened beverages, but that the new rule violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. "Instead, the city is trying to ensure that there is no free marketplace of ideas, but instead only a government-imposed, one-sided public 'dialogue' on the topic -- in violation of the first amendment."

The ordinance's warning mandate also violates the First Amendment "by compelling sugar-sweetened beverage advertisers to broadcast the city's controversial, negative opinions about their products," the ABA claims.

The ABA claims that the ordinance also violates due-process rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment.

The California Retailers Association and the California State Outdoor Advertising Association are named as plaintiffs, along with ABA.

In November, San Francisco voters voted against a measure that would institute a 2¢-per-fl.oz. tax on sodas and other sugary beverages. Voters in neighboring Berkeley passed the nation's first tax on soda.