New York OKs nation's first ban on super-sized sugary drinks

TinGirl314

Sadly I think this is a bad idea.
You can't ban everything that is unhealthy... where are our personal freedoms?
Should people get a hint when they look at a 36 ounce soda and say 'wow that might be a lot of sugar' of course they should.
Eating and living healthy is a personal choice ...just like drinking alcohol.
You know it's straight up poison to your liver, you see people die from it either by overdose or driving into a tree...but that's legal.

Yes people can still go out and get soda, and they will...but to put a ban on something that 45% of the country (As seen on wiki answers, msnbc.com) drinks is just...dumb and fruitless. People who are willing to pay 2-3 dollars for a soda with dinner are still going to do so.

Some people do not want to be healthy....some very healthy people live on diet sodas.
Each person should be responsible for their own actions.

FlaxMilk

I'm in favor of government intervention for the good of the many, and even I'm not in favor of this. They can't point to a study that shows that these sodas are the main or sole cause of obesity. It's arbitrary and decided on by a panel of 8. If all of NYC voted for this, then maybe.

GoldspursX3

Can someone explain to me, rationally, how a ban on selling excessive servings of soda will transform America from a free nation to one under the jackboot of communist oppression?

The slippery slope argument (it all starts from this one thing and will then mushroom into many other negative things) is fallacious at best and outright politics of fear at worst. Sheesh, I'm not American but even I have more confidence in the robustness of your democracy than that.

The market will do nothing to stop rising obesity levels - its function is to increase production and consumption. People it seems have difficulty limiting their own portion sizes so what is there left to do? It is all well and good saying people should exercise self control but what if they don't as is clearly the case? How is the social cost of obesity to be paid for then?

Well in America, the role of government is to protect our liberties. We are the only country that (at least used to) operates under that guiding principle. It isn't the market's responsibility to control demand, neither is it the role of government. Consumers want what they want. It is the role of the market to provide what consumers want, and it is the role of government to provide justice if there is fraud or a breech of contract.

^^^^Quoting you- "Consumers want what they want".

Yes, they do. That is why their happy, soda-loving selves can just buy two if that's what they really want. If they still don't believe in self-control after someone is basically slapping them in the face and telling them no, then they can walk around with two 16 oz cups. No hair off my as$

It's not your place to decide what is an appropriate serving size or not. If a company offers a food product at a certain portion who are you to say that is too much?

Yes, we get it, that too much soda is bad. Plenty of other things I enjoy are equally bad. I personally don't drink soda, but get some extra sweet ice tea and I could easily drink a bucket of it. I practice self control and drink seldomly. I don't need big government saying how much I can drink.

rhonniema

I live in New York.
Though I do not consume large sugary beverages anymore, I feel that this is stupid.
If you're going to ban this, then ban high calorie entrees at restaurants.

When I go to the movies, I usually get a large slushee and share it with my boyfriend.
That's like my favorite part!

gertudejekyl

It is BS

amberlilies

It's stupid and ineffective. It should be a sin tax on ALL sugar-sweetened beverages (to be fair), the revenues from which should go toward fresh ingredients in school lunch programs and other forms of obesity prevention.

The amount of hoopla (I'm here in NY) about it is also stupid. The government is rife with insane policies and practices (take one look at this election, for example) but soda is what gets people upset.

acksaysbillthecat

I thought mandating adding nutritional info was too much against individual business rights, but then when I started using that info to make choices all of the time, I was glad to see it!

Sugary drinks: same thing, I think it's really against our freedom to choose, but then again, it's a good thing to institute. One of my professors walked around with a 64oz diet drink all of the time. He wasn't obese, but I'm sure he was very unhealthy inside.

redraidergirl2009

People are just going to order two drinks or skip the ice instead. Pointless ban. A tax would have been more effective.

Birdie

Can you not just buy 2 if you are that into your soda?

This is how the new McDonalds happy meal regulations are backfiring. Instead of buying the new smaller meal for the kids, people are buying the bigger value meal and the kids are getting more than twice the fat and calories they would have in the original happy meal.

If someone really wants it, they'll find a way to get it.

samiam321123

This law is stupid and will most likely be ineffective. They only banned larger sized drinks, not buying two smaller sizes. All this will leed too is more waste in the form of cups/bottles etc.

Education is the best way to get people to make more informed choices, not outright taking their choices away.

I know way too many overweight people who don't even drink soda. If NY were really worried about obesity wouldn't they have made a law that forced all overweight people into making better choices and not just the soda drinkers?