Health Informer - Medical News: Bloomberg Wants Super-Sized Soda Ban in NYC

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Bloomberg Wants Super-Sized Soda Ban in NYC - MedPage Today

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Diet & Nutrition

ByÂ Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Published: May 31, 2012

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to put the lid on super-sized sugary drinks.

The mayor announced plans to cap the size of sodas and other sugary drinks that can be sold at city restaurants, movie theaters, and stadiums at 16 fluid ounces -- about the size of a "Grande" drink from Starbucks, and smaller than the typical 20-oz bottles in which sodas are sold.

"You can still buy large bottles in stores, but in restaurants, 16 ounces is the max they can serve in one cup," Bloomberg said in an interview about his proposal on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports." "If you want to order two cups, that's fine. All we're trying to do is remind you that this is something that is detrimental to your health."

The move is the latest in the city's efforts to cut back on obesity, and could go into effect 6 months after Board of Health approval, according to a statement on MikeBloomberg.com.

It covers restaurants, delis, movie theaters, ballpark concessions, and sidewalk carts, but doesn't appear to apply to grocery or convenience stores. Corner stores and bodegas would be affected if they're defined by the city as a "food service establishment," according to the New York Times.

Drinks with fewer than 25 calories per 8-ounce serving would be exempt, as would diet sodas, certain fruit juices, dairy-based drinks, and alcoholic beverages.

Vendors who are in violation of the ban will pay a $200 fine after a 3-month phase-in period.

The idea will be proposed at a June 12 meeting of the city's health board, led by commissioner Thomas Farley, MD, MPH, a major proponent of anti-obesity initiatives, who was most recently featured in the HBO series "Weight of the Nation."

Past efforts in New York to curb obesity have included requiring restaurant chains to add calorie counts to their menus, as well as a ban on trans fats at city restaurants and in prepared foods.

Several groups representing the restaurant and beverage industries have come out against the proposal, arguing that soda isn't the only contributor to the nation's obesity epidemic.

According to Scott DeFife, executive vice president of policy and government affairs for the National Restaurant Association, research has shown that "the vast majority of beverage calories consumed by the average American are not from sugary drinks obtained from restaurants. Yet New York City's eateries are being unfairly singled out to ration portion size of single beverage servings."

DeFife said public health officials should "put all of their energies into public education about a balanced lifestyle with a proper mix of diet and exercise rather than attempting to regulate consumption of a completely legal product enjoyed universally."

The Center for Consumer Freedom, which is funded by the restaurant and alcoholic beverage industries and defines itself as an advocacy group for personal responsibility, called Bloomberg's proposal "perhaps the worst in his long line of failed nanny-state policies."

"New Yorkers don't need a PhD in nutrition to tell them that eating or drinking too much of anything is unhealthy," the group said in a statement. "It only takes a little common sense and personal responsibility -- two things that almost every New Yorker possesses."

But nutrition advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is funded by consumers and private foundations, said the proposal was "pioneering" and called it the "boldest effort yet to prevent obesity."

"We hope other city and state public health officials adopt similar curbs on serving sizes and reducing Americans' exposure to these nutritionally worthless products," the group said in a statement.

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