The New York City Board of Health approved Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on large sugar-sweetened drinks Thursday, as expected. Eight of the board’s nine members voted in favor of the ban; one, Dr. Sixto R. Caro, abstained.
“I am still skeptical,” Caro told The Associated Press. “This is not comprehensive enough.”
The plan, proposed by the mayor in May, calls for a ban on the sale of all sugar-sweetened beverages—soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, sweetened teas, coffees and fruit drinks—in cups larger than 16 ounces at the city’s restaurants, food carts, fast-food joints, movie theaters, stadiums and sports arenas. The Barclays Center, the new arena for the Brooklyn Nets opening next week, will comply with Bloomberg’s ban, its developer, Bruce Ratner, said Thursday.
The new policy covers any beverage that contains more than 25 calories per 8 ounces–but does not include diet sodas, soft drinks sold in grocery stores and in most convenient stores or those that contain 70 percent or more fruit juice. Beer is also not included in the ban.
“Six months from today,” Bloomberg tweeted, “our city will be an even healthier place. NYC’s new sugary drink policy is the single biggest step any gov’t has taken to curb #obesity. It will help save lives.”
Nearly 60 percent of the city’s adults and 40 percent of its children are overweight or obese, the mayor’s office said, putting them at higher risk for disease.
But Bloomberg’s ban has plenty of critics, who say the mayor is ushering in yet another “nanny state” policy.
Yahoo News has the full article
