JG
July 18th 03, 09:05 AM
www.reutershealth.com, Health eLine, 7/17/03
Senator seeks to stop fat suit feeding frenzy
Last Updated: 2003-07-17 15:35:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Senate Republican tried to head off a
potential wave of lawsuits against purveyors of high-fat foods on
Thursday with a bill to protect the food industry from suits alleging
they cause obesity.
"You shouldn't be able to sue someone else because of your own eating
habits," said Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, the second-ranking
Republican Senate leader and sponsor of the "Commonsense Consumption
Act."
The proposed legislation would only apply to suits claiming injury from
weight gain or obesity. It would not block other legal action involving
the food industry. McConnell said he did not believe it would block a
claim based on knowingly false labels, which he said is already against
the law.
Some claims have already been dropped or thrown out of court but other
cases are pending. Earlier this month, Kraft Foods Inc., maker of Oreos
and many other foods, said it would begin reformulating many of its
products and stop marketing in schools. One suit in California aiming to
ban Oreos has been dropped, but Kraft acknowledged it was concerned
about potential future suits.
Additional lawsuits are being discussed by some of the same lawyers who
spearheaded the 1990s suits against tobacco companies. McConnell said he
wants to "nip it in the bud."
McConnell, a slender man who had heart bypass surgery earlier this year,
said he personally reads food labels when he goes to the grocery store.
But he insisted that much of the nation's obesity problem may be solved
by common sense and discipline, not by looking for someone to sue.
"Some things are obvious," he said, when asked if McDonald's should put
on a label warning people not to eat too many Big Macs.
Michael Jacobson, director of the Center of Science in the Public
Interest, known for its reports on movie theater popcorn and fast food,
said in a statement: "It's interesting that Sen. McConnell thinks the
$200 billion restaurant industry desperately needs special protection
from judges and juries. I suppose he fears that courts would look dimly
on some of the fatty foods and marketing practices of big restaurant
chains."
The National Association of Food Processors President John Cady
applauded McConnell's bill as a "timely, strategic and needed response"
to the lawsuit threat.
Senator seeks to stop fat suit feeding frenzy
Last Updated: 2003-07-17 15:35:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)
By Joanne Kenen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Senate Republican tried to head off a
potential wave of lawsuits against purveyors of high-fat foods on
Thursday with a bill to protect the food industry from suits alleging
they cause obesity.
"You shouldn't be able to sue someone else because of your own eating
habits," said Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell, the second-ranking
Republican Senate leader and sponsor of the "Commonsense Consumption
Act."
The proposed legislation would only apply to suits claiming injury from
weight gain or obesity. It would not block other legal action involving
the food industry. McConnell said he did not believe it would block a
claim based on knowingly false labels, which he said is already against
the law.
Some claims have already been dropped or thrown out of court but other
cases are pending. Earlier this month, Kraft Foods Inc., maker of Oreos
and many other foods, said it would begin reformulating many of its
products and stop marketing in schools. One suit in California aiming to
ban Oreos has been dropped, but Kraft acknowledged it was concerned
about potential future suits.
Additional lawsuits are being discussed by some of the same lawyers who
spearheaded the 1990s suits against tobacco companies. McConnell said he
wants to "nip it in the bud."
McConnell, a slender man who had heart bypass surgery earlier this year,
said he personally reads food labels when he goes to the grocery store.
But he insisted that much of the nation's obesity problem may be solved
by common sense and discipline, not by looking for someone to sue.
"Some things are obvious," he said, when asked if McDonald's should put
on a label warning people not to eat too many Big Macs.
Michael Jacobson, director of the Center of Science in the Public
Interest, known for its reports on movie theater popcorn and fast food,
said in a statement: "It's interesting that Sen. McConnell thinks the
$200 billion restaurant industry desperately needs special protection
from judges and juries. I suppose he fears that courts would look dimly
on some of the fatty foods and marketing practices of big restaurant
chains."
The National Association of Food Processors President John Cady
applauded McConnell's bill as a "timely, strategic and needed response"
to the lawsuit threat.