Arlyn Cano said she welcomes more information about what she's drinking - even if it eventually puts her off the daily Gatorade or sugar-infused water habit she's had for as long she can remember.
"Definitely," the 22-year-old Petaluma woman said of the proposal to affix a warning label to all sugary drinks sold in California. "Because it makes you more conscious, more concerned about what you are about to consume."
Pointing to studies that have linked soda and sugary drinks to epidemic rates of obesity, diabetes and other afflictions in the United States, health experts last week proposed state legislation that would put a warning label on sugary drinks much the same as those that appear on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
The label would read "STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay." It would be the first such warning label in the nation.
"We believe government has an absolute responsibility to protect the health and welfare of people," said the bill's author, state Sen. Bill Monning, D-Carmel.
"We are trying to inform choice," he said. "We are not trying to take the product off the shelf."
The push comes as sugary drinks are coming under increasing fire for their role in myriad health maladies. In July, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's high profile attempt to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in restaurants and other venues was rejected in court but not before garnering national press attention.
Locally, Sonoma County officials have added their own campaigns to educate consumers about what they choose to put in their drinking glasses.
The state measure, SB 1000, would take effect by July 1, 2015 and is backed by the California Medical Association, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California and the California Black Health Network.
It is opposed by CalBev, the state arm of the American Beverage Association.
"We agree that obesity is a serious and complex issue," CalBev officials said in a statement. "However, it is misleading to suggest that soft drink consumption is uniquely responsible for weight gain."
Monica Waldron, 20, of Santa Rosa said she's well aware of the ingredients in her daily soda fix - and that's why she stops at one serving per day.
"I can't drink a lot, it hurts my tummy," she said of her Dr. Pepper. "I wouldn't pay attention to a warning label."
The statewide push comes as county officials have launched a new education campaign directed at sugary drink consumption, especially among teens.
According to a recent UCLA study, teens were the only age group to post an increase in sugary drink consumption between 2005 and 2012.
Because soda and sugar-sweetened drinks are the largest source of added sugar in the diets of all Americans, health officials are increasingly targeting what people drink in addition to what they eat.
In January, the Sonoma County Department of Health Services kicked off an ad campaign urging people to reconsider their beverage choices. Billboards throughout the county are spotlighting the issue.
"You wouldn't eat 12 packs of sugar," the signs read. "Why are you drinking them?"
In addition, ads are targeting younger people via Facebook and YouTube, said Jasmine Hunt, healthy beverage initiative coordinator for the county.
"It's awareness of how much sugar is really in what you are drinking," Hunt said. "(We want to) encourage people to make healthier decisions in terms of what they are drinking and what they are serving their children."
The $150,000 being spent on billboards and other ads comes from a two-year, $3.5 million Community Transformation Grant awarded to Sonoma County in 2012.
The grant money comes from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Disease Control as part of a program authorized by legislation behind the federal health care overhaul.
Approximately one in three babies born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetimes, according to the CDC. The risk is higher for Latinos - nearly half of all Latino babies are expected to become diabetic.
"Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks...is the single largest contributor to the obesity epidemic that is driving new cases of diabetes," said Dr. Ashby Wolfe, an Oakland-based family physician and vice chair of the California Medical Association's Council on Legislation.
Monning said the health risks are comparable to those posed by tobacco.
"The tobacco analogy is a good one," he said.
"The health data is conclusive, it's not speculative," Monning said.
According to Wolfe, there are many things people can do to live healthier lifestyles, but giving up sugar-sweetened drinks is crucial.
"Really, if you are going to change one thing, that is the thing to change," Wolfe said. "It's actually causing your body more harm over time than anything else you eat. Period."
Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671, kerry.benefield@press democrat.com or on Twitter @benefield.
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