It's just Nanny being Nanny

Ahhh - told you it was coming. The slippery slope of the government telling us how to live more healthy just got even more slick. Smoking (while incredibly unhealthy, unwealthy and unwise) was just the beginning.

Now groups are pressuring government officials to treat soda pop as the killer it truly is. Hear that Dr. Pepper? You're no healer! Coke? You do NOT add life - you are DEATH incarnate. The Pepsi generation? They're old, fat and practically dead.

And dammit, it's the government's job to tell us this. The groups call for the following actions:

1. Cease all marketing of sugar-laden beverages to children under 16, including print and broadcast advertising, product placement, the Internet, mobile phones, athletic event sponsorship, signage, packaging promotions, merchandising, and other means.

2. Stop selling sweetened beverages, including sports drinks and fruit flavored beverages and teas, in all public and private elementary, middle, and high schools; acceptable beverages in schools include water, seltzer (carbonated) water, and fruit juice in container sizes of 250 ml or less. (Ideally, schools should have free, convenient drinking fountains.)

3. Limit sponsorships promoting physical activity and health to contributions to “blind” trusts overseen by government agencies which use such funds for programs that do not feature corporate logos, brands, or other proprietary information.

4. Increase the promotion of new lower-sugar products and sell existing high sugar products in smaller portions.

5. Pay a modest value added tax on soft drinks -- with governments returning the money to consumers through provision of physical activity and nutrition education programs, and through subsidies that reduce the costs of fruits and vegetables.

Thanks, nanny-state. I hate thinking for myself.

via The Bullshit Observer