摘要：In March 2013 a state judge invalidated New York City’s proposal to ban sales of sugar-sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces; the case is under appeal. This setback was attributable in part to opposition from the beverage industry and racial/ethnic minority organizations they support. We provide lessons from similar tobacco industry efforts to block policies that reduced smoking prevalence. We offer recommendations that draw on the tobacco control movement’s success in thwarting industry influence and promoting public health policies that hold promise to improve population health. Tobacco control policies, including cigarette taxes and smoke-free air laws, are largely responsible for dramatic declines in smoking rates over the past several decades. 1 Likewise, public policies that seek to influence the food and physical activity environment hold promise for reducing the prevalence of obesity. 2 However, policies that aim to limit access to unhealthy foods or tobacco products are often met with opposition by industries concerned that new regulations may have a negative impact on product sales. Evidence from statewide tobacco control efforts has demonstrated that effective grassroots advocacy is an important strategy to counter this opposition and engage policymakers and legislators in efforts to implement policies to improve population health. 3,4 As such, organizations that represent racial/ethnic minority groups have particularly important roles to play when one considers the disproportionately higher burden of preventable disease among these groups compared with that among Whites. For example, African Americans have obesity rates that are approximately 40% greater than rates among Whites. 5 Yet, during New York City’s (NYC’s) recent attempt to restrict sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as part of a strategy to reverse negative trends in obesity rates, it was leading minority organizations, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who sided with the beverage industry to strongly oppose the policy. In this article, we explore parallels between the tobacco industry’s strategies to prevent grassroots support for tobacco control policies, particularly among minority-led organizations, and recent actions taken by the beverage industry to impede the regulation of SSB sales. We offer recommendations, which draw on the success of the tobacco control movement, to minority organizations and the public health community for promoting obesity-related policy initiatives.
