The Baltimore City Healthy Kids Meals Bill was signed by Mayor Catherine Pugh in April but went into effect Wednesday. Restaurants will be limited to offering children's meals with flat, sparkling or flavored water with no added sweeteners; milk or non-dairy alternatives; or 100% fruit juice. Parents can choose to order other drinks for their children, however. Baltimore's health department will enforce the law through its inspection process, and those restaurantsfound violating it could face a $100 fine.

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Restaurants in Baltimore are now officially barred from including sodas and other sugary drinks on kids' menus, according to a city ordinance that went into effect Wednesday.

Baltimore is now the biggest U.S. city and the first on the East Coast to pass this kind of measure, said Shawn McIntosh, director of the Maryland chapter of the Sugar Free Kids advocacy group. Seven California cities and Lafayette, Colorado, have enacted similar ordinances, according to health officials.

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The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) was named the 2018 Local Health Department of the Year by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). The annual award recognizes local health departments for outstanding achievements in innovative public health and safety improvements.

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Baltimore has become the first major city to prohibit restaurants from including sugary drinks on children's menus.

The measure, which went into effect on Wednesday, is intended to promote healthy habits in young children and their families by making the default kids' menu options water, milk and 100 percent fruit juices.

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