Bloomberg Plans a Ban on Sugary Drinks in NYC

[tropicsgoddess]

Mayor Bloomberg's plan to win the war on obesity is to ban the sale of large sugary drinks (anything over 16 ox) in NYC. Not just sodas but also juices and alcohol in establishments like restaurants, sports stadiums, etc.




To be honest. I think it's nuts. All I see is nanny state written all over this.


Link!

[Snowbird]

Sounds like they're on their way to living in Demolition Man's world, getting all excited about going out to Taco Bell, the only restaurant that survived, and not allowed to consume anything bad for them. Of course, at the end of that movie, the guy who came up with those rules was shot and shoved into a fireplace.

[Greenday]

Not just sodas but also juices and alcohol in establishments like restaurants, sports stadiums, etc.

Link!

The article specifically states that the ban does NOT ban diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks, or alcohol.

[telecom_goddess]

I don't see the point because one can still stock up on the same sugary crap at the grocery store and drink it all day at home.

[drunkenwildmage]

Ok..So the ban would be for anything more then 16oz. So, instead of buying the 1 32oz, buy 2 16oz, or 3 8oz, which would cost more. Thus, people are forced to spend more money, and the soft drink makers/restaurants/stores make more money.

[Amanita]

You mean the residents of NYC haven't driven this fucker out of town on the subway rails yet?

Nanny state indeed. I thought NY'ers were supposed to be tough, not nanny-state weenies who need dear mayor to hold their hands for them.

I understand wanting to encourage good health, but nanny state crap like this won't do it.

[guywithashovel]

I saw this on the news---yesterday, I think.

I think we can expect to see more of this kind of stuff throughout the next several years. Remember how back in the 2000 decade everyone went nuts about carbs, and we heard all this crap about low-carb dieting and how we all needed to cut carbs? Well, carbs, pasta and bread specifically, were the health food "whipping boys" of that decade. Now that the 2010s have gotten started it seems that sugar and sodas are becoming the new thing that "everyone needs to avoid" in order to be healthy.

[Greenday]

Sugar and soda have never been healthy.

[ngc_7331]

Sugar and soda have never been healthy.

There's lots of things in this world that aren't healthy. But it's my decision whether or not I want to consume them. This ban is taking things waaaaaaaay too far.

[guywithashovel]

They aren't healthy in excess (nothing is), but lately there has been some overreaction to them.

[crashhelmet]

There's lots of things in this world that aren't healthy. But it's my decision whether or not I want to consume them. This ban is taking things waaaaaaaay too far.

While I believe in the need for national health care, I don't believe in providing you the golden parachute to ruin your health and put an unnecessary drain on the funds that could go to a much needier patient.

This ban does not affect grocery stores or convenience stores. So if you really need that 32oz Coca Cola, instead of paying >$2.00 for it at the fast food restaurant, goto to your 7-11 and get it for half the cost. Save yourself money in the process.

ETA

OH!!!! Not sure how I forgot about this. Most restaurants offer unlimited refills. So for those that dine-in, they can still get their pound packing, teeth rotting fill.

[Andara Bledin]

So for those that dine-in, they can still get their pound packing, teeth rotting fill.

This attitude right here: Fuck it. In the neck.

There are a million and one ways for a person to do damage to themselves, and most of them have nothing to do with sugary drinks.

This is more feel-good, "look at how proactive I am," bullshit legislation that's wasting money and time and other resources that could be put to use dealing with real issues.

It's prohibition 3.0.

^-.-^

[BlaqueKatt]

This attitude right here: Fuck it. In the neck.

There are a million and one ways for a person to do damage to themselves, and most of them have nothing to do with sugary drinks.

yup, exercise rates in the us are dismal at best with less than 50% of adults meeting minimal exercise guidelines(30 minutes aerobic exercise 5x a week), only 20.4% meet the minimum requirements for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening.(source)

Plus an "oh so evil" 20 oz coke contains 240 calories while a 16oz starbucks mocha is 260, an iced white chocolate mocha(also 16 oz) is 340, and a 12 oz McCafe milkshake(exempt from the ban), is 530 calories(16 oz is 670), 16 oz of orange juice is 224 calories(and a small amount of vitamin A[20%], calcium[6%], Iron[6%], and vitamin c[414%])

So eah banning sodas larger than 16oz will do nothing really.

[Nekojin]

The Starbucks example is a great one. I'm sure that there are other examples of non-sugar-laden drinks that nevertheless have higher calorie counts than a cola. Smoothies come to mind. Although I'll grant that they're fruit-based, they're more directly fruit-based than so-called "fruit drinks" (which are often just fruit flavored), and... I forget, is fruit good for you or bad for you this year?

[crashhelmet]

This attitude right here: Fuck it. In the neck.

There are a million and one ways for a person to do damage to themselves, and most of them have nothing to do with sugary drinks.

This is more feel-good, "look at how proactive I am," bullshit legislation that's wasting money and time and other resources that could be put to use dealing with real issues.

It's prohibition 3.0.

^-.-^

Prohibition? Seriously? Straw Man?

Yes, there are million things that people can do to harm themselves.

Take a look at the sugar breakdown in these drinks.

1 standard packet of granulated sugar is about 4.2 grams. So a 12oz can of Mountain Dew would have close to 11 packets of sugar in it. Eleven. packets. of. sugar.

Now let's look at the facts. Ingesting large amounts of sugar causes insulin spikes in your blood stream. That sugar is then turned in to visceral fats which block your insulin receptors, causing your pancreas to pump even more insulin into your system. Pretty soon, your pancreas is either working over time or it's pumped out all that it can and you need insulin injections. This is how metabolic diseases like diabetes occur.

Visceral fats are also responsible for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and, it should go without saying, obesity.