The Mayor is currently proposing a city-wide ban on the sale of large sodas and other high-sugar drinks. The ban would affect the sales of soda, energy drinks, presweetened iced teas, etc. at restaurants, cinemas, stadiums, delis, and even street carts. The sale of large sugary beverages will not be regulated when bought from a supermarket or convenience store as long as the store in question does not have a cleanliness rating used for restaurants and food establishments, like bodegas with a steam counter.
Obesity is a growing problem in the city and around the country and Mayor Bloomberg feels that New York is a stepping stone to nation-wide change. Some opponents of the proposal feel the Mayor is infringing upon people’s personal freedoms. But look how the Mayor’s ban on trans-fat and no smoking regulations spread around the country; surely Mayor Bloomberg must be onto something. His proposal, the first of its kind in the United States, must be approved by the Board of Health before the proposal could be voted on. The Mayor’s proposal would ban any drink exceeding 16 ounces or without the numerical value—today’s small drink would once again be considered a large, as it was in the past. The ban would not apply to zero-calorie, diet drinks, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks (like Yoo-hoo), or alcoholic beverages (your 40's are safe from the regulation). Basically, you can drink diet soda in any quantity your heart desires regardless if that’s not really great for you, either.
Consult the chart below, put together by the New York City Health Department, originally posted by the New York Times, to determine what would meet the regulation and what would be banned.
Tell us what you think about the proposed ban on drinks exceeding 16 ounces in the comment section below!
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