New York Bans Large Soft Drinks
The American government does not trust you to eat healthy. That seems to be the message as New York City has gone ahead and banned the sale of large sodas and sugary drinks from being sold at restaurants and movie theaters.
The ban is an attempt to curb the city’s growing obesity epidemic which kills an estimated 5,000 New Yorkers a year.Public health experts around the nation — and the restaurant and soft-drink industry — will be watching closely to see whether the new restrictions on supersized colas, adopted Thursday by the city’s Board of Health, lead to changes in the way New Yorkers eat and drink.
The restrictions would not affect fruit juices, dairy-based drinks like milkshakes, or alcoholic beverages; no-calorie diet sodas would not be affected, but establishments with self-service drink fountains, like many fast-food restaurants, would not be allowed to stock cups larger than 16 ounces.
The measure, which could face legal challenges from the soft drinks industry, takes effect in six months.
Although the measure is very far from being a ban on the over-indulgence of sugary drinks, the disappearance of mega-sized cups in many establishments will at least make people more aware of what they’re consuming, Bloomberg says.
Mr. Bloomberg is known for introducing ambitious — and, some say, overreaching — public health policies, like bans on smoking in bars and city parks and the posting of calorie counts on menus in chain restaurants; they often catch on around the country.
“It’s time to face the facts: obesity is one of America’s most deadly problems, and sugary beverages are a leading cause of it,” said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement earlier this month. “As the size of sugary drinks has grown, so have our waistlines — and so have diabetes and heart disease.
“6 months from today, our city will be an even healthier place,” Bloomberg tweeted on Thursday.
How about it guys? Is the government looking out for you or should those pesky politicians mind their own business?
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