….. had to pay Rs. 5 Lakhs as fine !!!
A few days back I found this article on the Times of India App and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that the social worker who sought to ban Coca Cola, Thums Up etc because they were a health hazard, was imposed a fine of Rs. 5 Lakhs. When I read the article, I understood that the petitioner had filed the PIL without sufficient information. So Supreme Court was fair with their judgement, legally, but I wish they had asked the petitioner to gather the required information and re-present his petition rather than imposing a fine. But I am no legal expert, what do I know.
I totally get the point that Mr. Chavda may have filed the petition without enough information available to him, but I love his idea/PIL.
If we have to hold just one man made thing responsible for obesity and other health parameters deteriorating across the world, it will be the fizzy drinks. They all have empty calories and dangerous quantities of sugar. Whether its Pepsi or Coca Cola’s product line-up, or any other soft drink manufacturer, someone has to file a PIL in some world court and ask these companies to shut down, empty their coffers and pay up people who consumed their poison.
Not one soft drink can claim any health benefit. If you are thirsty, water is all that is required or fruits or lemon juice …. no Sprite, no Fanta, none of these can help. These companies have harmed not just people’s health but they have also harmed mother nature – the plastic bottles of Coke and Pepsi are the biggest pollutants ! We then are, inventing ways of planting saplings in them or using them for storing drinking water etc and celebrating one day as World Environment Day to appease ourselves.
I have never like fizzy drinks, I can’t drink more than a single mouthful at a time, if at all. When I met Krishnan, he loved all the soft drinks because they would be chilled and his job with Lipton took him to remote locations in TamilNadu where drinking water was not clean. The bottled water revolution had not yet begun those days so the soft drink seemed to be safer because the bottle was sealed. He stopped drinking colas in 1990 and now, occasionally will have a Sprite or Nimbooz once in two years. Can’t remember when he had a Sprite though!!! We don’t buy soft drinks at home. I make Ice Tea if we have guests over or I will make real “lemon” Shikanji. Mostly we just make lots of seasonal fresh fruit juice, like watermelon etc.
Please understand that every glass of Coke or Pepsi or Fanta or Thums Up is pure poison. No health benefits, just empty calories and harmful sugar or even more harmful sugar substitutes. Ban these fizzy drinks from your life. Your body will thank you and the Earth will bless you.