France bans unlimited soda refills - Polidicks

[QUOTE=Levelog;51738263]Then USA, UK, and France can make an alliance of people who don't want to care about the world. The unlikeliest of allies.[/QUOTE] [t]http://ww2today.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Roosevelt-Churchil-deGaulle-Giraud.jpeg[/t] Unlikeliest? Except for the "don't want to care about the world" part

IKEA is the only place that I know of that has unlimited soda refills here. And you know what, that's fine because their soda isn't anything to write home about, but its soda.

This isn't going to help anyone except restauranteurs.

France has socialized healthcare, right? I know Americans are all about freedom and libertarianism but if a country has democratically decided to make their health a government responsibility at that level, I don't see why that government can't in turn make rules to promote general health. And besides... it's a rule on businesses, not individuals. It doesn't say you can't shove your face-hole full of the best high fructose corn syrup money can buy, it just keeps restaurants from using unhealthy amounts of soda to try to lure in customers.

Probably worth mentioning that I have literally [I]never[/I] seen a place in France that allows for unlimited refills - most fast-food restaurants don't even let the clients serve themselves and just fill the cup from behind the counter when preparing your order. Hell, one of the few places near here that has a self-service drink fountain already limited customers to a single serving. This basically just cements an already existing practice and only affects an absolutely minimal amount of restaurants. And to be fair, if you need more than one of those gigantic cups of soda to get a meal down you've got some problems that need some looking into, and if you can't fix your problems, the government will for you before the rest of the country gets to pay your hospital bills.

This is the same country that banned people from wearing too modest of clothing on the beach so I'm not surprised. [editline]27th January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Ganerumo;51738787]Probably worth mentioning that I have literally [I]never[/I] seen a place in France that allows for unlimited refills - most fast-food restaurants don't even let the clients serve themselves and just fill the cup from behind the counter when preparing your order. Hell, one of the few places near here that has a self-service drink fountain already limited customers to a single serving. This basically just cements an already existing practice and only affects an absolutely minimal amount of restaurants. And to be fair, if you need more than one of those gigantic cups of soda to get a meal down you've got some problems that need some looking into, and if you can't fix your problems, the government will for you before the rest of the country gets to pay your hospital bills.[/QUOTE] Unsure how it is in France, but most restaurants here will give you a free soda if you finish yours until you're too full for more.

as much as I'm against banning unlimited refills I'm also anti fatbody it's a personal choice, sure, but you're still pretty nasty if you just let yourself go

[QUOTE=matt000024;51738855]This is the same country that banned people from wearing too modest of clothing on the beach so I'm not surprised.[/QUOTE] There's a pretty massive difference between banning clothes with no actual basis other than ignorance, and banning something that statistically increases obesity by encouraging bad eating habits. Also soda's more expensive here than it is in America for a bunch of reasons, so restaurants aren't going to get you refills without you paying extra.

[QUOTE=Govna;51738043]This. Soda is basically just liquid candy. But they don't call it that of course, but that's because it would sound disgusting then. I mean, it's fine if people drink a soda every now and again. It's fine if people eat candy and junk food every now and again. The problem is that there's a bunch of people here in the West who apparently don't know the meaning of the term "moderation" and who don't take good care of themselves and their health. Especially here in the United States. [url=http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/07/23/425635400/even-if-youre-lean-1-soda-per-day-ups-your-risk-of-diabetes]Even drinking a soda a day-- which might seem harmless-- significantly increases your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes[/url], obesity and other health complications aside.[/QUOTE] [quote]The studies he looked at were observational, so they can't prove cause and effect. But the link between sugary drinks and diabetes is solid, since researchers say they understand the biological mechanisms of how too much sugar can overwork the endocrine system. ... It's tricky to unravel. "People gaining excessive weight might switch to diet drinks and still get diabetes because of their other risk factors," explains David Ludwig, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children's Hospital.[/quote] I'm highly skeptical that a soda a day is responsible alone for the incidence of diabetes, and the researchers are unable to prove it; I suspect other lifestyle factors are also in play, such as "If you drink a soda a day, you're less likely to make healthy choices, like eat a balanced diet or engage in exercise." It's ultimately more calories in vs calories out, and healthy, well-balanced diets, that are responsible for maintaining health than the precise item you're ingesting. So if you're reading Govna's post and you're already tracking your calories and macronutrients and exercise and are actively keeping them in healthy bounds, you can relax because you aren't going to catch diabetes from drinking a soda a day. If you're not making healthy choices and drinking a soda a day is just one of the many mistakes you're making and you're ingesting way too much sugar to begin with, yeah, you're at a high risk.

[QUOTE=Ganerumo;51738926]There's a pretty massive difference between banning clothes with no actual basis other than ignorance, and banning something that statistically increases obesity by encouraging bad eating habits. Also soda's more expensive here than it is in America for a bunch of reasons, so restaurants aren't going to get you refills without you paying extra.[/QUOTE] Don't see much of a difference banning things that really don't affect other people. If I want to drink ten bottles of soda everyday and die in my bedroom surrounded by porn I don't see why you should care.

[QUOTE=matt000024;51738938]Don't see much of a difference banning things that really don't affect other people. If I want to drink ten bottles of soda everyday and die in my bedroom surrounded by porn I don't see why you should care.[/QUOTE] to be fair obesity costs the US something to the order of $4 billion every year and god DAMN could that money go to something better, considering 99.9% of obesity cases come down to personal choice it'd be like if millions of americans decided to stick their dicks in fire and the taxpayer cost of medical treatments for burn wounds shot up by orders of magnitude yeah, I mean, it's your legal right to immolate your donger but????

[QUOTE=gman003-main;51738781]France has socialized healthcare, right? I know Americans are all about freedom and libertarianism but if a country has democratically decided to make their health a government responsibility at that level, I don't see why that government can't in turn make rules to promote general health. And besides... it's a rule on businesses, not individuals. It doesn't say you can't shove your face-hole full of the best high fructose corn syrup money can buy, it just keeps restaurants from using unhealthy amounts of soda to try to lure in customers.[/QUOTE] Splitting hairs here, but Isn't HFCS banned in most of Europe, meaning it's ordinary cane sugar? Not that that's really any better mind you.

[QUOTE=Dr. Evilcop;51737443]Treating a symptom rather than the cause. Educate people on healthy choices, get them signed up for the gym, etc. Don't do like the US where they show "Supersize Me" in PE and call it a day[/QUOTE] Education isn't the problem, it's motivation and self-control.

[QUOTE=Zergeant;51737780]All the Americans complaining about free refills in the thread is pretty comedic. Sugar has a pretty heavy effect on the human body and soda is pretty smack-filled with that. I'd imagine this would help somewhat, since most restaurants gives a generous amount in one glass. At least make water refills unlimited though.[/QUOTE] I dont know why so many people here seem to be acting like the government shouldn't step in and tell them how to live their lives. Free refills aren't a right, you can still drink yourself to obesity if you really want to. You just have to pay to do so. Not really any different to how you can go to a store and pick up bottles of soda which you pay for.

[QUOTE=cccritical;51738918]as much as I'm against banning unlimited refills I'm also anti fatbody it's a personal choice, sure, but you're still pretty nasty if you just let yourself go[/QUOTE] So have the government give the restaurants an incentive to prevent free refills, don't outright ban them. Banning luxuries makes them seem controlling. "France offers incentive to businesses willing to remove free refills" is a softer headline to read than "France bans free refills" [editline]a[/editline] IIRC that's how the U.S. Federal government raised the drinking age to 21. Not through writing a law and forcing states to comply, but by decreasing federal highway funding for states that did it themselves.

I honestly didn't even know countries other than America offered free refills.

[QUOTE=matt000024;51738938]Don't see much of a difference banning things that really don't affect other people. If I want to drink ten bottles of soda everyday and die in my bedroom surrounded by porn I don't see why you should care.[/QUOTE] It affects other people because of Universal Health Care. Everyone's going to pay for the treatment of your upcoming diabetes and heart problems because your eating habits are this shit. We can't make exceptions for people who got health issues out of eating habits because then it sets a worse precedent where universal health care stops being universal. So instead we limit the ability of people to do stupid shit so everyone doesn't have to spend more to keep social security afloat. Also, you're still allowed to buy your way into obesity if you really want to. This is just cutting an incentive to do so because it forcibly introduces money into the equation which is enough to stall most people. Not to mention that it's also directed towards an underage population that is not necessarily educated or capable of making rational decisions when it comes to their eating habits. This is the same reason why vending machines have been banned from schools (up to highschool, universities are still allowed).

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;51738933]I'm highly skeptical that a soda a day is responsible alone for the incidence of diabetes, and the researchers are unable to prove it; I suspect other lifestyle factors are also in play, such as "If you drink a soda a day, you're less likely to make healthy choices, like eat a balanced diet or engage in exercise." It's ultimately more calories in vs calories out, and healthy, well-balanced diets, that are responsible for maintaining health than the precise item you're ingesting. So if you're reading Govna's post and you're already tracking your calories and macronutrients and exercise and are actively keeping them in healthy bounds, you can relax because you aren't going to catch diabetes from drinking a soda a day. If you're not making healthy choices and drinking a soda a day is just one of the many mistakes you're making and you're ingesting way too much sugar to begin with, yeah, you're at a high risk.[/QUOTE] That's nice, but nobody anywhere said that "a soda a day is responsible [i]alone[/i]" for causing Type 2 Diabetes-- just that it significantly increases your risk of developing it. Read, thanks. Having said that: [quote]But the link between sugary drinks and diabetes is solid, since researchers say they understand the biological mechanisms of how too much sugar can overwork the endocrine system.[/quote] The link is proven. Drinking a soda a day is bombarding your body with sugar, 39 grams worth if you're drinking a can of Coke (12 ounces) for example. Your blood sugar spikes from this, and then insulin is released by your body to try and control it. In about an hour, your blood sugar drops/crashes. You don't have to be a doctor to understand that this is going to be hard on your body to deal with. That isn't even going into detail about all the problems it causes with your bones and teeth, your liver, etc. Having a sedentary lifestyle and making further unhealthy choices is just exacerbating things and increasing your risk. Additionally, studies which have been done on high glycemic index diets (that means high sugar diets) have also confirmed the link between sugar and the development of Type 2 Diabetes. The more taxing your body's demands for insulin and the longer this goes on for, the greater the odds are that you will develop Type 2 Diabetes; it also increases your odds of developing Insulin Resistance Syndrome. Drinking a soda a day is objectively unhealthy for you. It's not just about calories, it's also about the amount of sugar you ingest on a regular basis. You shouldn't bombard yourself with it. Should be common sense to understand.

[QUOTE=Govna;51739127]Additionally, studies which have been done on high glycemic index diets (that means high sugar diets) have also confirmed the link between sugar and the development of Type 2 Diabetes. The more taxing your body's demands for insulin and the longer this goes on for, the greater the odds are that you will develop Type 2 Diabetes; it also increases your odds of developing Insulin Resistance Syndrome. Drinking a soda a day is objectively unhealthy for you. It's not just about calories, it's also about the amount of sugar you ingest on a regular basis. You shouldn't bombard yourself with it. Should be common sense to understand.[/QUOTE] Yep. Just eat a balanced, nutritious diet with plenty of good fats and proteins and complex carbs and you'll be fine with drinking soda. Thanks for backing me up.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;51739218]Yep. Just eat a balanced, nutritious diet with plenty of good fats and proteins and complex carbs and you'll be fine with drinking soda. Thanks for backing me up.[/QUOTE] Nobody said you wouldn't be, just that drinking it everyday is objectively unhealthy for you and significantly increases your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes (also Insulin Resistance Syndrome). That's because when you drink it, you're bombarding your body with sugar, and it struggles to cope-- especially if you're doing it every single day. I don't even know why you bothered responding to me in the first place. There's nothing to argue here lol.

[QUOTE=Govna;51739249]Nobody said you wouldn't be, just that drinking it everyday is objectively unhealthy for you and significantly increases your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes (also Insulin Resistance Syndrome). That's because when you drink it, you're bombarding your body with sugar, and it struggles to cope-- especially if you're doing it every single day. I don't even know why you bothered responding to me in the first place. There's nothing to argue here lol.[/QUOTE] Just giving additional context so people didn't get the wrong idea, that's all. Nothing I said went against you at any point, actually, the key theme was that moderation and healthy choices are more important and that sugar here isn't inherently evil. "Yes, and", not "no, but."

[QUOTE=FFStudios;51737593]if France can trample the free will of its citizens (as it is so good at doing in the past as well), the United States will surely do the opposite don't you find it a bit ironic that France has the like a third of its population addicted to smoking cigarettes and refuses to do anything about it other than limiting public consumption[/QUOTE] Nice statement with nothing to back it up, Americans smoke more than the French. [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_cigarette_consumption_per_capita]Wikipedia as a source[/url] [editline]28th January 2017[/editline] [QUOTE=Ganerumo;51739125]It affects other people because of Universal Health Care. Everyone's going to pay for the treatment of your upcoming diabetes and heart problems because your eating habits are this shit. We can't make exceptions for people who got health issues out of eating habits because then it sets a worse precedent where universal health care stops being universal. So instead we limit the ability of people to do stupid shit so everyone doesn't have to spend more to keep social security afloat. Also, you're still allowed to buy your way into obesity if you really want to. This is just cutting an incentive to do so because it forcibly introduces money into the equation which is enough to stall most people. Not to mention that it's also directed towards an underage population that is not necessarily educated or capable of making rational decisions when it comes to their eating habits. This is the same reason why vending machines have been banned from schools (up to highschool, universities are still allowed).[/QUOTE] The same smokers put money into the system to pay for their medical costs (and they pay more than they get btw), i think obese people should too. Fat people are really, really fucking expensive. I know in Australia our health system is being crushed (pardon the pun) under the weight of the obesity epidemic.

[QUOTE=FFStudios;51737593]if France can trample the free will of its citizens (as it is so good at doing in the past as well), the United States will surely do the opposite don't you find it a bit ironic that France has the like a third of its population addicted to smoking cigarettes and refuses to do anything about it other than limiting public consumption[/QUOTE] Actually we've been steadily increasing the price of cigarettes more and more and making more and more PSAs to try and get people to stop, or to just not start. Latest move in the list was to completely prohibit recognizable brand packaging for cigarette and uniform them in a single grey template with some shock picture at the front, a warning that's larger than the actual brand name, and said brand name being written in plain font. IE things went from [t]http://www.eichenlaubgoldenberg.com/actualites/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/balaruc-04copie-redim.jpg[/t] to [t]http://sante.lefigaro.fr/sites/default/files/media/field_media_image/PHO19b93786-bc14-11e3-a268-397148e29a2c-805x453.jpg[/t] We're doing as much as we can without outright banning the thing, based on the fact that banning it will not actually get anyone to stop. Saying all we did was limit public consumption is idiotic and uneducated.

I seemed to have jumped the gun a bit. It seems while Americans smoke more per capita (i.e. each smoker smokes more a day), more french people are "smokers". Although in unaware of the threshold, as there's a lot of casual smokers in France.

[QUOTE=Lambeth;51737839]I guess it's not? does everything need to be immediately relevant[/QUOTE] What If you're going to be mocking an entire nation of people for something like that, yeah it has to be relevant dude Otherwise you're just saying random bullshit for no reason and nothing to back it up

Soda is only a small part of the problem, a lot of other things have a ton of sugar in them, in some cases as bad as soda and most people don't even realise it, such as many fruit juices, yoghurts, ready meals (diet ones in particular), breakfast cereals, the list goes on and on. Point is having a soda a day isn't an issue, provided you look at what else you're eating and drinking, so in many ways this is wasted effort, if they really want to do something effective they need to look at all foods not just soda.

[QUOTE=Chryseus;51740248]Soda is only a small part of the problem, a lot of other things have a ton of sugar in them, in some cases as bad as soda and most people don't even realise it, such as many fruit juices,[/QUOTE]If you drink 1L fruit juice a day you won't get fat compared if you drink 1L of coke a day. Not only that, fruit juice has a lot of useful stuff like vitamins and what not. Soft drinks are just sweet fizzy water that kills you slowly.

[QUOTE=rndgenerator;51740300]If you drink 1L fruit juice a day you won't get fat compared if you drink 1L of coke a day. Not only that, fruit juice has a lot of useful stuff like vitamins and what not. Soft drinks are just sweet fizzy water that kills you slowly.[/QUOTE] Sugar in any form will make your fat if you consume too much of it, there is some debate over wether refined sugar is worse for you in terms of diabetes risk but it still isn't good for you to have that much sugar in your diet. This is exactly why we have such health problems, people still don't know how to have a proper diet.

[QUOTE=bitches;51737407]if someone wants to hurt themselves with poor dietary choices, why stop them? what's next, a limit on sizes of ice-cream containers? rationing Nutty Bar purchases? [editline]a[/editline] a ban on refilling your drink as you go out the door isn't going to replace proper parenting[/QUOTE] Jesus man, its FREE refills that is the thing, they can go on and buy as much fucking soda they want

so a lot of folks will now have to pay more because of some other dumb fucks fat kids?