HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Restaurants and fast food joints would be barred from serving oversized sugary drinks and sodas, should legislation passed by the Guam Youth Congress this weekend become law.
Youth Congress Bill 1-34 would limit sugary drink serving sizes to 17 fluid ounces, or about the size of a bottle of cola.
Bills passed by the Youth Congress go on to be introduced at the Guam Legislature, and can become law like any other bill following a public hearing, approval from the relevant legislative committee, and a vote from lawmakers.
“We as consumers, we tend to consume items, especially sugary drinks in the portions that we received them,” Youth Congress Rep. Nathan Paz, prime sponsor of the measure, told his colleagues during debate at the Guam Congress Building.
“So our intention with this bill is that by restricting sugary drinks that exceed the 17 fluid ounces limit, we can decrease the amount of calories consumed by our people and our intention is to improve the health outcomes by reducing sugar and caloric intake.”
Besides sodas, coffee, tea, and other beverages with sugar added would see a cap on size.
Paz said that the ban would only apply to drinks sold at eating establishments, not grocery or convenience stores, though there is an exception for vendors selling food at hospitals. The 17 fluid ounce limit was chosen with the average size of a bottled beverage in mind, according to Paz.
A large fountain drink available at a drive through might be nearly twice that size, at about 30 ounces.
Paz’s bill passed at the Youth Congress session with nine votes in favor, two opposed, and two excused absences.
New York City was the most notable case of a jurisdiction attempting to ban big sodas, after the city’s health board, with the backing of former mayor Michael Bloomberg, inserted a prohibition into the city’s health code. After a lengthy court battle, New York’s health board was ultimately deemed to have overstepped its regulatory authority, and the ban was struck down.
A cap on drink sizes enacted through law, and not executive action, would not face the same uphill battle in court.
Guam has the highest adult diabetes rates in the nation, according to data from 2018 released by the Centers for Disease Control. Close to one in six adults, or about 15%, were diagnosed with diabetes, more than any other state or territory in the U.S. Heart disease was also the island’s leading cause of death in 2021.
The most recent attempt to curb unhealthy eating habits through legislation came in the form of a proposal to tax sugary drinks at a rate of 2 cents per fluid ounce, from Sen. Roy Quinata.
However, doctors, restaurant owners, and even diabetes advocates voiced opposition to the bill, raising doubts about whether it would actually deter customers from reaching for a sugary drink.
Cases of various sodas for sale are seen at Join Market in Hågat on May 15, 2023.
