New York, NY. - In an effort to fight rising obesity levels, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Thursday that he is proposing a bill that would ban the sale of large-sized sugared drinks.
The bill proposes to ban the sale of any sugared or soda drinks larger than 16 ounces from any entity that receives a letter grade for food service, this includes restaurants, hotels, delis, food-chains, food carts and movie theaters.
The ban will not apply to bottled drinks sold in markets or stores. It also will not include diet drinks, fruit juices, alcoholic or dairy drinks.
The New York City Beverage Association is certainly not pleased with the proposal. The Industry spokesperson, Stefan Friedman, voiced his distaste for the bill to the New York Times saying "The New York City health department's unhealthy obsession with attacking soft drinks is again pushing them over the top; it's time for serious health professionals to move on and seek solutions that are going to actually curb obesity."
According to Mayor Bloomberg restricting the availability of super-sized sugary drinks to the people is doing exactly that, he told the New York Times, "New York is not about wring your hands; it's about doing something. I think that's what the public wants the mayor to do."
The New York City Board of Health will vote on the bill next month. The bill is the first of its kind and If passed, will be in effect from March 2013.
