Bloomberg’s silly NYC ban on (some) large sugary drinks
ICYMI: Mayor Michael Bloomberg last week proposed a ban on the sale of large sizes of some sugary drinks in New York City’s restaurants, movie theaters, street carts, ballparks — pretty much everywhere but grocery and convenience stores.
It’s a silly ban, for a lot of reasons. One is that, like most nanny-state regulations, it’s arbitrary: The cutoff is 16 oz., which all but assures a growth industry for anyone who wants to manufacture 15.-oz. plastic bottles. Another is that it’s inconsistent: A 20-oz. bottle of Coca-Cola, with 65 grams of sugar, would be outlawed but a 21-oz. chocolate milkshake from McDonald’s, with 111 grams of sugar, would still be legal because it’s considered “dairy-based.” A third reason is that it’s bound to be ineffective: Why would someone who wants his sugar not just buy two 12-oz. cans of a sugary soft drink rather than that 20-oz. bottle (and end up drinking more)? And, in restaurants, these drinks must be served in cups that are 16 oz. or less — but refills will still be allowed.
But maybe the silliest thing of all about the ban is the rationale Bloomberg gave for it. From the New York Times’ story about the mayor’s proposal:
“Obesity is a nationwide problem, and all over the United States, public health officials are wringing their hands saying, ‘Oh, this is terrible,’ ” Mr. Bloomberg said in an interview on Wednesday in City Hall’s sprawling Governor’s Room.
“New York City is not about wringing your hands; it’s about doing something,” he said. “I think that’s what the public wants the mayor to do.” (emphasis added)
Ahem. If people wanted something done about obesity, and specifically about obesity linked to the consumption of sugary drinks, wouldn’t more people stop consuming sugary drinks?
In fact, given that the Times’ story reports that the city has found one-third of residents drink at least one sugary drink a day, isn’t it impossible to conclude that a ban on these drinks is what “the public” wants?
If the other two-thirds of the public (which, for the record, includes yours truly) doesn’t want to pay, directly or indirectly, for the health problems caused by obesity, the answer is to place the burden for paying for those problems more squarely on those people suffering them because of their own behavior.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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193 comments Add your comment
getalife
June 4th, 2012
2:49 pm
You are still free to be fat cons.
Class 'of '98
June 4th, 2012
2:50 pm
Just put straight-jackets and helmets on everyone, feed them nothing but lettuce, crackers and water, make them live in locked, padded rooms, and we will all live forever!!
Why hasn’t anyone else thought of this?!?!?!
Aquagirl
June 4th, 2012
2:53 pm
Personal freedom and personal responsibility go hand in hand.
That personal responsibility works much better when it’s directly connected to the problem. Unfortunately we have kids guzzling down soda and getting fat who don’t suffer serious consequences for years. Put a $3 price tag on that Coke and people will think twice when they’re looking at the Coke, not flat on their back in an ER.
I agree we should encourage personal responsibility, but doing so while simultaneously encouraging the undesirable behavior is dumb. Internal programming to love soft drinks + delayed consequences = people drink a lot of soda. It’s not rocket science, and calling those people dumb and lecturing them doesn’t make a bit of difference. People who commute 30 miles per day are endangering their health too, I anxiously await their lecture from the cons here. Go for it, ladies and gents.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
June 4th, 2012
2:54 pm
Obama’s “Julia” would just love this program designed to take care of her from cradle to grave.
Class 'of '98
June 4th, 2012
2:58 pm
“Mrs Obama’s actions and intentions are good”.
As with most liberals, intentions are all that matters.
And there is an 8-lane Highway to Hades paved with them.
Eazy peazy
June 4th, 2012
2:59 pm
Soda mfg’s should just pull all of the marketing $ from the NYC area, I think that would send the correct message.
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
June 4th, 2012
3:00 pm
I hope they don’t do this to beer too! I like my 6 pack abs.
Class 'of '98
June 4th, 2012
3:02 pm
Which is more expensive, calling an ambulance for a 50 year-old obese smoker who dies on the way to the hospital or providing medical care for a physically fit person who lives to 105?
If we are really concerned about keeping down medical costs, we should be encouraging people to eat, drink, be merry and die young.
It’s a lot cheaper in the long run.
Rafe Hollister- trying to save the Choom Gang
June 4th, 2012
3:14 pm
Silly soda ban in the Obamanation, whodda thunk it?
I think we ought to ban maple syrup, nothing but sugar and water, with a little maple flavor. You can then eat your pancakes with a little oil of arugula. Make Michelle happy to come in from a hard day gardening and sit down for some pancakes and arugula oil.
Gotta keep the country balanced, you know in Barrack’s America if you go after corn, we have to go after something from a blue state.
That Black guy
June 4th, 2012
3:15 pm
grated
June 4th, 2012
12:18 pm
Those jumbo drinks are at least two liters larger than your bladder can hold. Get rid of them.
__________________________________________________________________________
Good thing they don’t go DIRECTLY to your bladder when you drink them, HUH?
GT
June 4th, 2012
3:18 pm
Couldn’t agree more.
I think the same thing about alcohol on Sunday.
That Black guy
June 4th, 2012
3:25 pm
Darwin
June 4th, 2012
1:25 pm
OK – I’m good with that. But doesn’t that conflict with your Republican held views that we can do whatever we want because this is America? – It shouldn’t
And exactly how would we start placing that burden? Do we start weighing people? – By making people pay for their OWN healthcare when they go into that Big Gulp induced coma.
Wouldn’t the right consider that “big government”? – Instead of painting with that HUGE broad brush, try THINKING a little. It’ll only hurt for a minute.
Don't Tread
June 4th, 2012
3:28 pm
“If people wanted something done about obesity, and specifically about obesity linked to the consumption of sugary drinks, wouldn’t more people stop consuming sugary drinks?”
And they are doing just that…Diet Coke and Coke Zero have gained a ton of market share. But that doesn’t stop them from regulating/taxing “sugary drinks”. Why not? Because blaming the drink and then taxing it brings more of other people’s money into city coffers, which is the real reason for doing this.
Grasshopper
June 4th, 2012
3:28 pm
And yet you can still buy the Broadway Danny Rose at the Carnegie Deli.
Shouldn’t that be Brother Bloombergs next target?
http://www.carnegiedeli.com/menu.php#pg6
iggy
June 4th, 2012
3:31 pm
Next thing ya know they will outlaw the Triple Whopper w/cheese. EGADS!!
Dearie
June 4th, 2012
3:36 pm
I agree with Kyle ~ Personal freedom and personal responsibility go hand in hand.
Aquagirl – “Unfortunately we have kids guzzling down soda and getting fat who don’t suffer serious consequences for years” – Are the kids guzzling soda without any knowledge of it by their parents? Where are they getting the money? Where are they starting this path to obesity – soda in baby bottles maybe? Do people really not know that soda is not good for a baby? We allow Coke and Pepsi vending machines in our schools as early as middle school. Coke and Pepsi vie to have their machines in the schools by giving the school free product, free machine and a subsidy. (Where do you think those large football field score boards come from – covered with product logos?) They get paid back royally in early “brand loyalty”. People choose their behaviours. Why should everyone else suffer their consequences?
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
June 4th, 2012
3:46 pm
Next rule: no dinner plate can have a diameter larger than 8″.
mwuahahahahaha. Silly politicians aren’t limiting or taking away your freedoms. They are just “curbing”your freedoms.
Grasshopper
June 4th, 2012
3:49 pm
Is hizzoner a hypocrite?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/dining/23bloom.html?_r=1&hp
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
June 4th, 2012
3:51 pm
This is the kinda rule you put in place when you don’t even want to try education. We should take note of what’s in our “food” and educate our kids as to what it is and what it can do to you.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
June 4th, 2012
3:54 pm
“They are just “curbing”your freedoms.”
If that isn’t one of the most vile and chilling comments ever posted on this, or any other blog, I don’t know what is.
Not surprising it comes from Finn McFool.
Melaine
June 4th, 2012
3:56 pm
What kind of logic is this? You can get an EBT card that allows you to buy sodas by the liter, sugary cereals, candy, pastries, etc., but I can’t go to the movies and share a 32oz drink @ $8 with my sweetie and have to purchase two 16oz. drinks @ $6 each? Get a grip Mr. Mayor and get out of the nanny business.
Aquagirl
June 4th, 2012
4:02 pm
Where are they starting this path to obesity – soda in baby bottles maybe?
Unbelievably….yes.
http://dentistry.about.com/b/2009/02/17/a-hidden-epidemic-central-appalachias-dental-crisis-revealed.htm
People do choose their behaviors, but it’s a good idea to make good behavior easier.And when you’re talking about undoing years of behavior set in childhood, an @$$hat lecture is…well, @$$hat. If you’re okay with letting people die of cardiac arrest on the sidewalk because that’s their “personal choice” that seems like a pretty harsh application of the concept. Obese, sickly people don’t enjoy being obese and sickly, their karma automatically doles out consequences for guzzling soda and camping on the couch. It’s easy to pass unspecified vague judgements like “let them pay” because it makes some people feel good.
Hillbilly D
June 4th, 2012
4:08 pm
I wouldn’t drink a Co-Cola if you bought me one but if somebody else wants to, it ain’t none of my business.
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
June 4th, 2012
4:09 pm
Let the obese and unhealthy die earlier.
We only want to use their carcasses for food, anyway.
Soylent Green is yummy. Or so I’ve heard . . .
@@
June 4th, 2012
4:09 pm
When Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta rolled out their ads targeted at families with obese children, there was a backlash from critics.
Some public health experts, however, say the approach could be counterproductive when it comes to childhood obesity. The commercials and billboards do not give families the tools they need to attack the problem, some critics say. Others say the images will simply further stigmatize obesity and make it even less likely for parents and children to acknowledge that their weight is unhealthy and should be addressed.
One parent, however, whose child participates in the Children’s Healthcare Clinic, had this to say:
“People have a tendency to blame others or to blame their situation,” she said. “But we have to own the choices that we make, and that’s why I feel it’s not too strong of a message. Our children are at risk, and as parents we have to own that.”
In way too many aspects of life, that message isn’t well received by the left.
Don Abernethy
June 4th, 2012
4:16 pm
Bloomberg is an embarrassment to the Republican party. Maybe he should consider joining a circus.
Don Abernethy
June 4th, 2012
4:19 pm
When I write a conservative opinion I get “we sense a duplicate statement”. In other words they don’t want you to comment..
Tiberius - Banned from Bookman's and proud of it!
June 4th, 2012
4:28 pm
Don Abernethy, sometimes if you “double-click” unintentionally when you hit submit (a touchy mouse or pad will cause this) the site registers a duplicate comment.
Has nothing to do with any possible censorship.
Hillbilly D
June 4th, 2012
4:36 pm
Don
Sometimes this site just doesn’t work worth a damn no matter what opinion you’re trying to voice. I have more trouble at Mark Bradley’s than anywhere.
Kyle Wingfield
June 4th, 2012
4:44 pm
Because Bloomberg has been alternately described as a Republican and a Democrat, let’s set the record straight: He used to be a Democrat, and then was a Republican, and has been an independent for about five years now.
Aquagirl
June 4th, 2012
4:44 pm
An off-topic way to end the day: mom chokes facebook bully in mall. Apparently facebook, like sugary soda, has some consequences.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article1232843.ece
Kyle Wingfield
June 4th, 2012
4:49 pm
Folks, ajc.com gets thousands and thousands of comments every day. The commenting function screws up sometimes. Don’t take it personally or conspiratorially, even if I know it can be very frustrating if you’ve written a long comment and can only watch and wonder when it is vaporized.
Sometime later this year, we’re supposed to be implementing new back-end software that (in theory, anyway) should improve matters on this front.
AmVet
June 4th, 2012
4:50 pm
I once read that there are no fat people. Just plenty of unfit people.
A subtle distinction, I suppose but accurate.
Eliminating full time PE through grade 12 was, in my opinion, a huge mistake.
As a child, I remember an obese person – especially another child! – was truly an oddity. Now, sadly they are common place. (Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese.)
http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity
And yes, Bloomberg’s proposed ban is stupid, because it addresses the symptoms not the cause.
But to demonstrate the magnitude of the problem, look at the recent, completely irrational (self-destructive?) backlash when the First Lady announced her excellent program, Let’s Move
From the utterly bizarre reaction of the (two-ton or otherwise) neocons, you’d think she was trying to sell American children into slavery, instead of trying to emulate JFK’s initiatives during the 1960s.
Sad…
Rafe Hollister- trying to save the Choom Gang
June 4th, 2012
4:51 pm
Whatever he is, Dem, Rep, or Indie, thank God, he belongs to NY and not GA.
Jefferson
June 4th, 2012
5:02 pm
Why are some drugs illegal ? What’s wrong with just letting personal freedom decide ? Ask Rush what wrong with OXY ? I mean some folks get scripts….
MarkV
June 4th, 2012
5:05 pm
Bloomberg is a smart guy, but even smart guys have occasionally a dumb idea like this one.. And equally dumb is an effort to politicize it.
Jefferson
June 4th, 2012
5:07 pm
You gotta draw the line somewhere, in NY its 16 oz.
Jefferson
June 4th, 2012
5:08 pm
Seat belts anyone ?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward--Again)
June 4th, 2012
5:11 pm
And equally dumb is an effort to politicize it.
———————–
We certainly wouldn’t want to politicize policy.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
June 4th, 2012
5:11 pm
Considering all of the problems facing the average American, how exactly does the Gaystapo conclude that Slurpees need to be outlawed?
Is it any wonder you can’t find a job?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward--Again)
June 4th, 2012
5:13 pm
Maybe the government (i.e. libtards) should mind their own business.
That’s where I draw the line.
Jefferson
June 4th, 2012
5:15 pm
Have the cake and eat it too.
GT
June 4th, 2012
5:16 pm
Conspiratorially right wing? I just figured out why Romney is so paranoid he thinks the world thinks like Republicans who eat their young.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
June 4th, 2012
5:18 pm
President Obozo has overseen the weakest recovery on record. He is on track to have the worst jobs record of any president in the modern era. The standard of living for Americans has fallen more dramatically during his presidency than during any since the government began recording it five decades ago. As of this writing, unemployment has been above 8 percent for 38 consecutive months, the longest such stretch since the Great Depression. Home values are nearly 35 percent lower than they were five years ago. A record 46 million Americans are now living in poverty.
And the dummycrat solution to this is to chase you down the street cause you got a Big Gulp.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Unexpectedly Revised Downward--Again)
June 4th, 2012
5:20 pm
I Report, nothing cures the libtard depression over their Moron Obozo’s failure like exercising a little arbitrary control over the little people.
md
June 4th, 2012
5:21 pm
Just one more step away from liberty………you know we are on the wrong path when “they” tell “us” what to do vs the other way around.
Although I agree obesity is a major problem and it drives up healthcare costs, where do we draw the line??
I agree with Kyle…..tier it out to the individual. Smokers pay more, drinkers pay more, fat folks pay more……it is a choice for many, so let them decide if they want to pay the piper……
GT
June 4th, 2012
5:22 pm
Hell let em eat cake, most of em are right wingers anyway. Do you ever watch “the bigest losers”, it looks like a Republican convention. You begin to see where the elephants come from. Old Newt is their poster boy, I bet he drinks out of a fire hose, which is legal in most states.
@@
June 4th, 2012
5:22 pm
To some folks sugar is like a drug. My daughter had friends in high school who would ransack my pantry looking for anything containing sugar. Said they were “bottoming out”. They were neither diabetic or obese. I can only speculate that their brain’s release of some chemical had slowed.
It’s been said that there are four foods which affect the brain and are potentially
addictive — sugar, chocolate, meat and cheese.
I can vouch for the chocolate thingy…the darker the better…the more bitter, the better.
Aquagirl
June 4th, 2012
5:25 pm
And the dummycrat solution to this
It’s not a “dummycrat” proposal, but don’t let that slow you down. You’re so darn cute when you rant until you’ve confused yourself.
Jefferson
June 4th, 2012
5:34 pm
With the GOP they are consistanly inconsistant, they look to the “me” angle, the “D” think they are helping. Both are full of crap.