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Introduction
Free refill is a phrase often used by restaurants for the refilling of a customer’s beverage, at no extra charge, after the original purchased amount has been consumed. Most commonly the beverages eligible for free refills are coffee and fountain soft-drinks. This practice is almost universal in restaurants in the United States, but extremely rare in the UK and rest of Europe.

Early
Although no one can trace the exact roots of the “free refill”, but there are a few historical references. According to the book The World of Caffeine: The Science and Culture of the World’s Most Popular Drug, around the 1890's if you ask a European visitor what in his opinion is the most noteworthy feature of American cafes, he is most likely to say, "they refill your cup without charge, without asking!” This book also contains another historical reference, it refers to the American roots of free refill. It states, “perhaps, the endless refill is symbolic of America’s special affection for coffee and its culture of largesse and informality as well.”

Modern
In, 1988 Taco Bell launched their “value initiative” which included drive thru windows, reduced prices, and free refills. As a major soda owned Taco Bell this was strategically done to increase revenue and the soda companies brand awareness. Now free refills are offered in most American restaurants.

Marketing
Free refills are seen as a good way to attract customers to an establishment, especially one whose beverages are not their primary source of income. Due to the extremely low cost of fountain soft drinks, often offering a profit margin of 80-82%, establishments tend to offer free refills as a sales gimmick. Coffee produces a similar high profit margin, allowing establishments to include coffee in free refill offers. Most of these establishments have fast customer turnover, thus customers rarely consume enough beverage to make the offering unprofitable. Some establishments, who make their primary income with beverage sales, only offer free refills to members of rewards programs.

United States
In certain areas of the United States, like Massachusetts and New York, politicians have proposed banning free refills and drinks over a certain size in recent years. The Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg (2002-2013), so far has gone the farthest in this matter pushing a ban on sugary drinks over 16 ounces. Bloomberg had several reasons for enacting this ban stated in the ban. According to New York City officials, American’s now consume 200-300 more calories a day then they did 30 years ago, sugary drinks being the leader in this increase. Now over 35% of adults and 17% of youth are considered obese in America. Susan Kansagra who is the head of the chronic-disease prevention and tobacco-control unit of the Health Department was quoted in saying that in New York obesity accounts for 5,800 deaths a year including, 1,700 from diabetes. The reasons are similarly tailored to other cities that are trying to get bans against large sugary drinks and free refills. The Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Henrietta Davis (2012-2013), tried to do something similar to this ban believing that there are too many temptations in life and large sugary drinks are not a needed temptation. Still, the ban has yet to make headway in Massachusetts. In New York the ban against large soft drinks got dismissed by the New York Supreme Court because it “violated the state principle of separation of powers.”

France
The French government is another critic on free refills, with some French politicians and health experts trying everything possible to keep the American “drink as much as you want” mentality out of France. Two global fast food chains have recently started offering free refills at their French locations and have been receiving a lot of backlash about it. Serge Hercberg, the Nation Nutrition and Health Programme, was recently quoted saying “It is in total contradiction with public health recommendations,” working to promote healthy eating her stance is, “I oppose all marketing practices that encourage people to consume excessive quantities of unhealthy products.” France is trying to deal with the problem of obesity, as the average Frenchman has gained 3 kg since 1997.