Now they are going to ban free refills on drinks?

Seriously? Are the American people so stupid they can't figure out drinking a ton of cola is bad for their health? I am saddened that the government thinks it needs to step in so we don't become even more obese as a nation. Pathetic. I am a libertarian all the way. The less government pokes their noses in my business the better. I am competent enough to lose weight without the government controlling what I can and can't consume.

I know while traveling abroad getting free refills is unheard of. I get it. But we are a nation that is accustomed to "free refills". I get free coke zero refills which I am happy about. I just don't like any government entity telling private business what they can and can't sell. Geez.

Sorry for ranting but this irks me....:explode:

I don't know how I feel about this ban. It would be interesting to see some numbers on how much obsesity actually cost this country and the insurance companies.

People kill themselves with over the counter drugs. Better get rid of those too.

K...so what if McDonald's was giving out free OTC drugs with every purchase?

Thats there choice...and guess what...thanks to are supposed freedom in this country, you have a choice not to buy it.

Free markets will also even that kind of crap out. If someone wants it they will buy it, if they dont, they wont.

Lmao...so you'd be cool with McD's giving out free cough syrup?

Ya why? I got a free sample of deodorant the last time I bought a magazine...whats the difference? If McDonalds wants to waste money on that, that's there business...not the governments.

Hmmm...

Use too much deoderant = You smell like a douche.

Use too much cough syrup = You end up high or in the hospital.

Maybe I am retarded, and like to eat deodorant = End up in the hospital...whats the difference?

If you are into eating deoderant I'm guessing you shouldn't be allowed in public anyway.

If your into using too much cough syrup you shouldnt be allowed in public anways.

You mean like a teenage kid looking to get high? Agreed...they should be at home playing videogames and being generally awkward. But they aren't. And if it was your teenage kid getting high off cough syrup that he got from McD's I'd bet you'd be singing a different tune.

You mean like a teenage kid looking to kill themselves? Agreed...they should be at home playing video games and being generally awkward. But they weren't. And if your teenage kid was the one killing themselves by eating deodorant that he got from a supermarket I'd bet you'd be singing a different tune.

You can flip that argument on anything. So we should just band everything, ban all freedom and have the government regulate everything.

Why would I blame the supermarket if my teenage kid ate deoderant? Deoderant is not intended to be taken orally...it's intended to be applied to your skin. Something like cough syrup however is intended to be taken orally and is easy to take a dose that is far over the recommended amount.

If your an idiot and cant follow directions.

But maybe we need the government to regulate cough syrup more...maybe they should force it to be sold in individual doses. But you have to pay an extra 100 bucks every time so someone from the government can administer it to you

That way you would NEVER overdose!

Man sounds great.

People kill themselves with over the counter drugs. Better get rid of those too.

K...so what if McDonald's was giving out free OTC drugs with every purchase?

Thats there choice...and guess what...thanks to are supposed freedom in this country, you have a choice not to buy it.

Free markets will also even that kind of crap out. If someone wants it they will buy it, if they dont, they wont.

Lmao...so you'd be cool with McD's giving out free cough syrup?

Ya why? I got a free sample of deodorant the last time I bought a magazine...whats the difference? If McDonalds wants to waste money on that, that's there business...not the governments.

Hmmm...

Use too much deoderant = You smell like a douche.

Use too much cough syrup = You end up high or in the hospital.

Maybe I am retarded, and like to eat deodorant = End up in the hospital...whats the difference?

If you are into eating deoderant I'm guessing you shouldn't be allowed in public anyway.

If your into using too much cough syrup you shouldnt be allowed in public anways.

You mean like a teenage kid looking to get high? Agreed...they should be at home playing videogames and being generally awkward. But they aren't. And if it was your teenage kid getting high off cough syrup that he got from McD's I'd bet you'd be singing a different tune.

You mean like a teenage kid looking to kill themselves? Agreed...they should be at home playing video games and being generally awkward. But they weren't. And if your teenage kid was the one killing themselves by eating deodorant that he got from a supermarket I'd bet you'd be singing a different tune.

You can flip that argument on anything. So we should just band everything, ban all freedom and have the government regulate everything.

Why would I blame the supermarket if my teenage kid ate deoderant? Deoderant is not intended to be taken orally...it's intended to be applied to your skin. Something like cough syrup however is intended to be taken orally and is easy to take a dose that is far over the recommended amount.

If your an idiot and cant follow directions.

But maybe we need the government to regulate cough syrup more...maybe they should force it to be sold in individual doses. But you have to pay an extra 100 bucks every time so someone from the government can administer it to you

That way you would NEVER overdose!

Man sounds great.

I like how you just put words in my mouth that had nothing to do with what I was saying. It's always cool to do that...

It is funny that people want to legislate a specific view of "morality" (e.g., gay rights, birth control, etc.) but man, don't mess with their Little Debbies or HFCS! Obesity is an epidemic and it costs money. We all pay for it.

Exactly.

Telling us what/how much we can drink is just one tiny step toward our country becoming a communist nation....

Go to Cuba, they will let you drink as much as you want if you have the pesos for it.

Telling us what/how much we can drink is just one tiny step toward our country becoming a communist nation....

Go to Cuba, they will let you drink as much as you want if you have the pesos for it.

I think she meant Fascism...or Obamaism or Romneyism...something like that.

Completely agree. It's mostly only in Northern American that you can get free refills. All of Europe you pay for what you drink. The government is only trying to take steps to encourage healthier lifestyles but you can still drink your litres of coke if you like. Let's not forget it's not a fundamental human right to get free soda!


The point the OP is trying to make is that the government has no right to tell me how much I can drink if the restaurant is willing to offer. AND the restaurant should offer free refills when we are paying $2-2.50 per sitting and it costs them an avg of $0.06 per glass .... ok off my soapbox !

$2.50 is cheap.. and its called profit margins, if you have an iphone they cost about £10 to make, do you demand free them aswell?

This is what everyone is failing to realize.

If suddenly McDonalds said "We are changing store policy and are charging for refills" so be it.

If suddenly McDonalds said "We are changing store policy, are charging for refills, and 90% is tax that is going to the government" Thats what people have a problem with.

Business are in business to make money. They set policies based on that. Government should stay they hell out of Capitilsm (Although this country went the way of Corporatism and Statism a long while back)

Completely agree. It's mostly only in Northern American that you can get free refills. All of Europe you pay for what you drink. The government is only trying to take steps to encourage healthier lifestyles but you can still drink your litres of coke if you like. Let's not forget it's not a fundamental human right to get free soda!


The point the OP is trying to make is that the government has no right to tell me how much I can drink if the restaurant is willing to offer. AND the restaurant should offer free refills when we are paying $2-2.50 per sitting and it costs them an avg of $0.06 per glass .... ok off my soapbox !

$2.50 is cheap.. and its called profit margins, if you have an iphone they cost about £10 to make, do you demand free them aswell?

Exactly...people don't think about the other expenses companies have to deal with beside the actual manufacturing material cost. Yes it's $.06 worth of cola...but they also have to pay the staff, pay for the cups, and pay for other things they may not have as big of a profit margin on.

Govt. pays for a huge amount of the healthcare bill in this country. Is Govt. not allowed to implment policies that might reduce that healthcare bill? That's the issue here.

This isn't about fatty's desire to drink free soda. It's about this national economy becoming burdened by healthcare costs.

Get out of your tiny woe is me mindframe and look a little broader.

Do you all want to fork over $20,000 per year to pay for your parents/grandparents health insuracne?? I suspect not. If you want a "libertarian" society, then plan on paying out of pocket for Dad's triple bypass or his diabetic foot amputation. Good luck with that, see you in bankruptcy court.

You do realize the government contributes to the outrageous costs of health care right? The ridiculous amount of regulations and taxes they place on the industry drive up costs.

Also, do you think this will make a dent in Obesity? No, not one god damned drop. The only way to combat it, via regulations, is to regulate everything that goes in a persons mouth, and take away freedom of choice. Plain and simple.

Thinking like yours is what allows these politicians to erode your personal freedoms "for the benefit of the nation". Welcome to fascism.

I don't know how I feel about this ban. It would be interesting to see some numbers on how much obsesity actually cost this country and the insurance companies.

According to an article on Medical Daily, Obesity accounts for 21% of U.S. Health Care Costs...roughly $190 billion a year.

Health care costs are more expensive for obese people than it is for smokers.

$1275 more for smokers vs. non-smokers
$1850 more for obese people vs. people with normal weight.

Pretty hefty strain on our economy for sure.

I know, lets ban obese people! Problem solved.

You do realize the government contributes to the outrageous costs of health care right? The ridiculous amount of regulations and taxes they place on the industry drive up costs.

Also, do you think this will make a dent in Obesity? No, not one god damned drop. The only way to combat it, via regulations, is to regulate everything that goes in a persons mouth, and take away freedom of choice. Plain and simple.

Thinking like yours is what allows these politicians to erode your personal freedoms "for the benefit of the nation". Welcome to fascism.

No free coke is fascism but the Patriot act is okay with you I assume?

I think we should tax what people put into their mouths actually. People don't seem to be able ot control themselves and my healthcare premiums are paying for it.

And i think its very spoilt to expect FREE refills, at the end of the day they are running a business.

Exactly! That costs the company money. If anything banning the free refills will (slightly) help the economy.

Yes! At the same time that it's government bussiness because it has to do with the country economy it also relates to people health. And the government should care about their heatlh of those who voted for them at the same time that they cannot ban everything that is bad for you (like alcohol, cigarettes, sugar, oil etc) because that would have a very high impact in economy and in people's life!
Everywhere else in the world you pay for what you drink, if you want more, if you dont care about your health then you should pay for it... Many people would only get a second cup because it's free even if they dont "need" it. And eventhough must people here KNOW how much they can and should drink, there are still a lot of people who dont, even as adults they have no self control and honestly this is a very simple way to help because once you are paying you have a better idea and think twice before getting more.

I don't know how I feel about this ban. It would be interesting to see some numbers on how much obsesity actually cost this country and the insurance companies.

According to an article on Medical Daily, Obesity accounts for 21% of U.S. Health Care Costs...roughly $190 billion a year.

Health care costs are more expensive for obese people than it is for smokers.

$1275 more for smokers vs. non-smokers
$1850 more for obese people vs. people with normal weight.

Pretty hefty strain on our economy for sure.

And we have no problem taxing cigarettes like crazy in most states. Hmmm double standard maybe??

Well, obviously the government has to step in somewhere because people have shown (in general) they can't NOT purchase the biggest thing on the menu.. THEN they not only have no self control but when said purchase has negative effects on their health, they turn to suing the companies that sold it to them, instead of taking responsibility themselves.

I tell you, it was all over when the woman at mcdonalds sued mcdonalds for serving her hot coffee. REALLY?!?!

Now we have people suing fast food companies because it made them fat. Apparently there is a need for SOME type of force to come down and take control because the average overweight consumer is going to blame someone else.

I agree! Stop the frivolous lawsuits! How about that, and holding the individual accountable for their own actions. That seems like the bigger problem to me. And you can thank Government for that problem as far as I'm concerned. If they are going to dictate like a parent to a willfull child, and encourage people to believe everyone else is responsible for their bad choices so they need the government to decide what's right and proper for them. And allowing that women (and others like her) to pass her own stupidity off on others and get rewarded for it is ridiculous! If they gave her lukewarm coffee she would probably have sued for that, or the ruined clothing. What ignoramous puts hot coffee near their privates while driving?