The city of San Francisco tasted defeat on Tuesday, at least temporarily, as a federal appeals court put a hold on its plans to label sugary-drink ads with health warnings.
Reversing a lower court ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that three groups suing the city—the American Beverage Association, the California Retailers Association and the California State Outdoor Advertising Association—were likely to prevail in claims that the warnings on soda advertisements violate the advertisers’ free speech rights. Following the lead of Philadelphia, which implemented the nation’s first-ever sweetened beverage tax, several cities across the United States have begun taking steps of their own to address consumption of sodas and other sweet soft-drinks.
