NYC Board of Health Passes ‘Soda Ban’

In a controversial move, New York City's Board of Health passed a rule banning sales of big sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, concession stands, and other eateries.

The ban begins on March 12 and will apply to fast-food joints, movie houses and Broadway theaters, workplace cafeterias, and most other places selling prepared food. It doesn't cover beverages sold in supermarkets or most convenience stores.

The city will begin fining sellers for violating the ban in mid-June. Enforcement would be conducted by an existing corps of city restaurant inspectors. A violation would lead to a $200 fine.

One board member, Sixto R. Caro, abstained from voting. The other 8 board members voted yes.

"I am still skeptical. . This is not comprehensive enough," Caro said.

Pamela Brier, a board member, described the initiative as "terrific" and said she wholeheartedly supported it.

"It's hard to do - there are a lot of unhappy people," she said, noting the criticism. She said she hopes the ban becomes the "new norm."

"It's time to face the facts: obesity is one of America's most deadly problems, and sugary beverages are a leading cause of it," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said. "As the size of sugary drinks has grown, so have our waistlines - and so have diabetes and heart disease. As weight-loss experts can attest, men and women struggle every day to lose weight, or even to just not gain a few pounds - and portion control is key to success. Our proposal for reasonable portion sizes won't prevent anyone from buying or drinking as much soda as they want, but it will help people keep from inadvertently taking in junk calories simply because the small drink they ordered was actually very large."

The mayor and his supporters said proposal strikes at a leading cause of obesity simply by giving people a built-in reason to stop at 16 ounces: 200 calories, if it's a regular Coke, compared to 240 in a 20-ounce size. For someone who drinks a soda a day, the difference amounts to 14,600 calories a year, or the equivalent of 70 Hershey bars, enough to add about four pounds of fat to a person's body.

More than half of New York City adults, or 58 percent, are overweight or obese, and nearly 40 percent of city public-school students in eighth grade or below are obese or overweight, according to the city.

The mayor has gotten some backlash about the ban and soda makers and sellers say the plan unfairly singles out soft drinks as culprits for the nation's fat problem.

Liz Berman, president of Continental Food & Beverage, Inc. and chairwoman of New Yorkers for Beverage Choices said "it's sad that the board wants to limit our choices."

"The fix was in from the beginning, and the Mayor's handpicked board followed their orders by passing this discriminatory ban; but it has not passed with the support of New Yorkers," Berman said. "We are smart enough to make our own decisions about what to eat and drink."

A majority of New Yorkers do not support government limits on the size of beverages such as soda, juice drinks, teas, sports drinks and flavored waters. More than 253,500 have joined the New Yorkers for Beverage Choices coalition - 50,000 in the last two weeks alone. And, according to a recent poll conducted by The New York Times, 60 percent of New Yorkers believe that the ban is a "bad idea" with a majority of those surveyed responding that the ban infringes on people's freedom of choice. By imposing this ban, the board has shown no regard for public opinion or the consequences to businesses in the City.

The soft-drink industry is expected to sue the city and explore legislative options for challenging the plan.

"This is not the end," said Eliot Hoff, spokesman for New Yorkers for Beverage Choices. "We are exploring legal options, and all other avenues available to us. We will continue to voice our opposition to this ban and fight for the right of New Yorkers to make their own choices. And we will stand with the business owners who will be hurt by these arbitrary limitations."

"The ban will hurt our business. We're already suffering in this economy," said Rocco Coppola, owner of Sabrina's Broadway Pizzeria. "Why should I have to stop selling drinks my customers want while the store next door is allowed to?"

"Proposals like the soda ban discourage new business and hurt our reputation as the dining capital of the world," said Andrew Moesel, spokesperson for the New York State Restaurant Association. "Reducing obesity is an important goal, but we want to partner with government to come up with effective ways to confront the problem. What we don't need is more burdensome regulation making it harder for businesses to function and skewing the competitive landscape."

New York City also has banned artificial trans fats from restaurant food and taken aggressive steps to discourage smoking. Starting this month, dozens of city hospitals are asking mothers of newborns to listen to talks about why they should breast-feed instead of using formulas.