A new law in the U.K. is forcing a popular restaurant chain to abandon its offer of bottomless drinks as the government seeks to reduce childhood obesity.
The new legislation came into effect in England on Oct. 1 and restricts the sale of sugary items in restaurants and grocery stores. As reported by LadBible, this means that the popular restaurant chain Nando's is no longer able to offer bottomless refills of Coca-Cola Classic because of its high sugar content.
This new change means that customers will only be allowed to enjoy one glass of high-sugar drinks. Other low-sugar options are not affected.
"We know this is a change to how customers can enjoy one of our popular soft drinks, and we hope it doesn't take away from your experience," Nando's said.
While this decision may not prove popular among customers, restricting access to high-sugar food and drinks can have health benefits, especially for children. A 12-ounce Coca-Cola contains nearly 10 teaspoons of sugar, exceeding the American Heart Association's recommended daily limit for added sugar, which is nine teaspoons for men and six for women. Many kids in particular may not yet have the maturity to self-regulate how much they drink.
Additionally, regularly consuming sugary drinks has been strongly linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and tooth decay.
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Reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, particularly among young people, encourages healthier alternatives like water, natural juices, and unsweetened drinks. Over time, this can result in reduced cases of chronic diseases and promote better long-term health outcomes.
While the law applies to free refills of sugary drinks and won't reduce plastic, from an environmental perspective, the broader sale of Coca-Cola and other sugary drinks generally leads to plastic waste, carbon emissions, and water use (reportedly, it takes about 35 liters of water for one 500 milliliter bottle of Coke).
Coca-Cola is consistently ranked among the world's top plastic polluters, and the production and transport of its products contribute significantly to environmental degradation and the emission of harmful pollution, including planet-warming gases.
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