War over warning label on sugary drinks

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A bill is heading to the assembly floor after passing by a big majority in the senate Thursday afternoon. It'll require a warning label on sugary drinks. In a 21 to 13 vote SB -1000 passes in the senate. California State Senator Bill Monning, a democrat from Carmel, authored the bill.

"The status quo is not working and we need a broad public health campaign to better educate families and provide informed choice of products," said Senator Monning.

The bill still needs to pass through assembly committees then the assembly floor. But if it jumps those hurdles the warning label will read like this - 'Drinking beverages with added sugar contributes to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.'

Fresno native Rhonda Hansen says she lost 140 pounds by cutting out soda from her diet.

"People are more conscious of their weight and what they're putting in their bodies these days. And I really think there should be labels on everything on what's everything," said Rhonda Hansen.

But Zackary Hansen on the other hand says it's another way the government is overstepping their boundaries.

"People have known for many years that it's unhealthy so why now do you have to put a label on it. When it's something already known and discussed," said Zackary Hansen.

"It is the government's role to protect the health and safety of the public. And we're actually not playing on a level playing field. The producers of these products spend hundreds of thousands of dollars targeting children and low-income communities and consumers," said Monning.

If it passes in the house it'll move to the governor for approval. And it could be signed by august 31st. All sugary drink containers have to have that warning label by July of 2015.