NYC Sugary Drink Ban Stalled



Last week, one day before it was set to take effect, a judge blocked Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ban on large sized sugary drinks. The judge questioned the bounds of health regulators, and felt they might not have the authority to place such a ban. The judge, State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling, said that “the soda rule has so many exemptions that it’s illegally arbitrary and that the Bloomberg-appointed Board of Health trod on the City Council’s turf to impose it,” according to the Associated Press.

But it’s certainly not the end of the road for the ban, which Bloomberg is planning on appealing. He called the block a “temporary setback” and expressed confidence in seeing the ban through to success.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that momentum is moving in our direction,” he said after the ban was struck down in court. The regulation was meant to be a pioneering move toward battling the growing epidemic of obesity in America. And despite the fact that the ban didn’t become law, some restaurants are choosing to voluntarily follow the restrictions anyway.

The appeal will likely cause judges to examine how far, exactly, health regulators’ authority should extend. And while a passionate Bloomberg is currently spearheading the initiative, his term ends later this year—and it’s unclear whether the city’s next mayor will feel as strongly about it.

But whether or not the law ends up passing, it does at least bring attention to some staggering statistics: 60% of adults and 40% of children in NYC are obese. That amounts to over $4 billion spent each year battling obesity-related medical issues. And sugary drinks certainly have been linked to obesity.

Polls in NYC have shown that residents are as split as anyone over the ban. Fifty-one percent oppose it, while forty-six percent support it, according to a recent poll from Quinnipiac University. At this point, it’s anyone’s game.



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