The University of California - San Francisco continues its efforts in banning the sale of sugary drinks in its campus. The school's public health researchers were able to successfully get vendors on board with the initiative.
In Inside Higher Ed's report last year, the University of California - San Francisco announced that it will stop the sale of sugary drinks on campus. There will no longer be sodas and other beverages with artificial sweeteners.
The policy did exempt diet sodas, zero-calorie drinks or 100 percent fruit juices. It also would not have an impact on the sale of unhealthy food in the campus.
Moreover, students can still bring the banned drinks onto campus. They just can't buy the sugary beverages inside, though.
The new rules went to effect on Jul. 2015. Vendors on the campus have reportedly agreed to the policy.
According to CNN, it took three years for everyone to join the initiative. Laura Schmidt, a professor of health policy in the School of Medicine, was the one who spearheaded the voluntary sales ban.
"It's a sales ban, which means the university has opted out of the business of selling and profiting off of sugar-sweetened beverages," she said. Schmidt also noted that she and her colleagues had to go "door-to-door" and meet with people in order to get them on board.
Sugar-sweetened beverages are described as drinks with added sugars. Syrupy coffee drinks, milkshakes and juices with fructose fall into this category.
"The happy surprise of it all is people actually realize they can reach for this delicious tea with a hint of mint in it, and it's got no sugar in it, and it tastes great," Schmidt added. She continues to hope that this would have a positive impact on the health of the students.
The New York Times added that, since the ban was implemented last year, the school has seen a significant drop, by about a quarter, in soda consumption among its employees. Previously, said employees were reportedly drinking an average of one liter of soda at work and at home every day.
