Childhood Diabetes Reduction Act of 2026

Key Points

• Sugary drinks, foods with artificial sweeteners, and ultra-processed foods would need large FDA warning labels on the front of packaging, covering at least 5 percent of the package.
• Companies would be banned from advertising these junk foods to children under 13 using cartoon characters, influencers, celebrities, toys, games, or apps.
• The bill restores the FTC's ability to write rules on children's advertising by repealing a provision that had limited that authority.
• It authorizes $60 million a year for NIH research into how ultra-processed foods affect health and addiction, plus $10 million a year for a CDC nutrition education campaign.
• Milk, infant formula, 100 percent fruit juice, and medical-use beverages are exempt from the sugary drink warning label requirement.
• The labeling and advertising rules would not start until one year after the bill becomes law, and the bill is currently just introduced and sitting in a Senate committee.