At Jefferson’s in downtown Lawrence on Wednesday afternoon, Ron Pulvers, the soccer coach at Baker University, ate a chicken finger sandwich with onion rings on the side.

It’s not the kind of food you’ll find on his team’s training table, but Pulvers said it would be “absurd” for him to ever sue the restaurant or any other for health problems associated with eating junk food.

“I think people have choices,” Pulvers said. “There’s enough media exposure to the risks of a high-fat diet – it’s everywhere you look.”

He won’t get a chance to change his mind.

A so-called “cheeseburger law” quietly hit the books in Kansas at the beginning of the month, shielding food purveyors from customers who might sue them for obesity-related medical conditions.

“In effect, it’s a tort reform bill that makes Kansas a better place to do business,” said Jim Gregory, a spokesman for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which backed the bill. “It helps the business community, and it encourages personal responsibility.”

And the new law brings some peace of mind to at least one local restaurateur. Marilyn Dobski, along with her husband, Tom, owns four Lawrence McDonald’s, the fast-food restaurant that has been most targeted by activists.

“This is a huge step in legal reform that is good for businesses and consumers alike,” Dobski said.

Richard Gwin/Journal World-Photo Big mac

State officials estimated in 2004 that 60 percent of Kansans are overweight – and that about one in five can be classified as “obese.”

Tobacco precedent

Kansas is the 18th state to pass a cheeseburger law, designed to protect the food industry from the same kind of public health lawsuits that have wounded the tobacco industry in recent years.

“Policymakers are worried that’s how we’re going to attack the obesity issue, so they want to put a stop to that before it gets out of hand,” said Marcia Nielsen, assistant to the executive vice chancellor for health policy at University of Kansas Hospital.

• Senate Bill No. 75 (.pdf)
• ‘Cheeseburger bills’ aim to protect restaurants from obesity lawsuits
  (08-28-04)

The first federal lawsuits against the fast-food industry came in 2002, but were quickly dismissed. Since then, restaurant lobbyists have pushed for such laws across the nation – saying the onus of physical fitness should be on the people who eat, not the businesses that serve them food.

“This action indicates the state takes personal responsibility seriously,” said Dan Pero, president of the American Justice Partnership, in a press release praising the Kansas law. “Law abiding businesses shouldn’t be liable for the bad eating habits of consumers.”

The American Justice Partnership is a project of the National Association of Manufacturers. Its goal is reducing legal burdens on businesses.

Attention good?

But cheeseburger laws have raised the ire of health advocates who say fast food restaurants should bear some responsibility for the nation’s obesity epidemic.

“No other industry has this kind of special protection,” said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest “And every other industry would love it.”

Jacobson’s group on Wednesday called for cigarette-style warnings on soft drink cans.

Now public health advocates will have to focus on other methods of convincing Kansas consumers to eat better. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment, for example, is in the process of launching an anti-obesity program aimed at schools, workers and senior citizens.

Restaurants aren’t completely off-limits to lawsuits. If they mislead customers – claiming that deep-fried cheese is as healthy as a piece of fruit, for example – they could still be vulnerable to consumer-protection claims.

At least one observer said publicity about the cheeseburger law might actually aid anti-obesity efforts.

“It forces you to acknowledge that obesity is a problem,” Nielsen said. “It’s a problem in Kansas, and it’s a problem we need to have discussions around.”