Sugary Drinks over 16oz. Banned in New York City
After banning trans fats and smoking from most public places, New York City now sets its sights on big sugary drinks.
If you live in New York and like to super-size your soft drinks, you might want to start filling up now. Health officials have banned all sugary drinks bigger than sixteen ounces, from places like restaurants, delis, movie theaters, and sports facilities.
The city's mayor says the ban is just one step towards helping people make healthier decisions.
"Sugary drink consumption is a key driver of obesity in our city and across the United States, and reducing the amount of sugary drinks that we consume is the simplest diet change that we can make to help lose weight," said Mayor Bloomberg.
Some are calling the ban a historic, life-saving measure.
"I want to congratulate the board on taking what i consider to be a historic step t address a major health problem of our time," said NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, M.D.
But others say the law is intrusive, and an industry group claims they've gathered more than 250,000 signatures against the ban.
"There's no indication that banning these beverages in certain establishments across the city will do anything, but there's lot of indication that it will cause a lot of problems both for individuals who want the choice to drink them and for the businesses that will be hurt by this," said Eliot Hoff, of New Yorkers for Beverage Choices.
The group is considering a lawsuit and other legal option to halt the ban, but until then, the law is scheduled to go into effect in March of next year.
One person on the city's Board of Health did abstain from voting Thursday morning, saying he is still skeptical. The other eight board members all voted to approve the ban.











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