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A federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked a San Francisco law requiring a health warning on soda ads, saying the measure was misleading and would suppress free speech. A unanimous, three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped the 2015 ordinance from going into effect until a lawsuit filed by the American Beverage Association and other groups is resolved. (Thanawala, 9/19)

The three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the ordinance stifles commercial speech and unfairly targets soda over other potentially unhealthy food and drinks. The panel blocked the rule from going into effect. The San Francisco ordinance, passed in 2015, requires advertisements for certain sugar-sweetened drinks to include a disclaimer that says “WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco.” (Randazzo, 9/19)

“By focusing on a single product, the warning conveys the message that sugar-sweetened beverages are less healthy than other sources of added sugars and calories and are more likely to contribute to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay,” wrote Judge Sandra S. Ikuta, an appointee of President George W. Bush. (Dolan, 9/19)