A year later, it imposed a “soda tax.” On Friday, the government said no restaurants can offer free refills of sodas and other sugary drinks. The new regulation is the latest attempt to tackle what the government called a relentless rise in the national obesity rate. The new French law, which takes effect immediately, said it aimed to “limit, especially among the young,” the risks of obesity and diabetes. Mexico added a 10 percent surcharge on sugary drinks in 2014 to reduce alarming levels of diabetes in the country. Philadelphia became the first major city this year to introduce a tax on soda and other sugary drinks, provoking public outrage.

Source: New York Times January 27, 2017 19:12 UTC