To halt the continuing and medically expensive march of obesity, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has taken a step that other politicians are afraid to even mention: he has proposed a ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts. The New York Times reports that the sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 fluid ounces  about the size of a medium coffee, and smaller than a common soda bottle would be prohibited if the move is approved. BusinessWeek, which, oh yeah, is owned by Bloomberg, reports that the city’s health board will vote on it after three months of public comment, and no other authorization from the state or city would be required. What do you think? Should sugary beverages bigger than 16-ounces be outlawed? Let us know in the comment space below.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, April 19, 2025
it’s not up to big brother to tell us what we may or may not do
a politican trying to help
the obese millions out there
chuggin down super size colas
as they drive out of the walmart parking lot.
good luck
they cost the health care industry millions yearly
and since most are not insured
they hurt the rest of us
meanwhile
we have no real rights anymore
you just think you do.
Seatbelts? Helmets when operating motorcycles? Vehicle safety inspections? Some of us are not smart enough to protect ourselves. That said, I should not pay higher health premiums to pay for Americans who choose gluttony.
My wife and I recently went to the movies. We, much to our regret, ordered large sodas. They were so friggin big, it took two hands to carry them. Carrying the soda and a box of popcorn was quite a challenge. Totally rediculous. That being said, its not the governments job to decide for me what size soda I want to purchase. I wont make the mistake or ordering a large soda again, but thats my decision to make.
Stupid, I’ll just buy two small if I want more.
so you think pot and other drugs should be legal right?it is not up to big brother to tell us what to do.
No, large sodas shouldn’t be banned, “ALL” soda should be banned. There is no nutritional value in the chemical, preservative, sugared water crap that like cigarettes has slowly been poisoning us for decades. Of course only people of intelligence and common sense(research the facts duh), would know that.
Yeah it’s much better to ignore what kind of crap soda really is and just keep getting fatter and more sick which this chemically laden sugar crap does! And since people like you don’t have a problem with your kids and family getting unnecessarily unhealthy diets God forbid the evil Gov. try’s and limits the stupidity of it’s constituents. Try learning whats bad for you, but since your too ignorant to comprehend that and would rather “blame” the evil gov. for trying to change obvious wrongs…
As if the governmental over-reach isn’t bad enough, the philosophical and moral hypocrisy is stunning: It’s perfectly fine to kill an unborn child, but don’t you dare serve her mother a large soda!
Good for you!! Let’s study the unborn fetus and if has has tendencies to obesity, smoking, drugs,diabetes or anything that might increase my insurance premiums then let’s kill it. If one slips by we’ll make sure they can’t eat sugar or fats or smoke or practice any religion, etc. It’s 1984 delayed, but still happening nonetheless.
We are all ready living in a 1984 world created by the neocons like Jack Abramoff, Grover Norquist, and the flunkies in the Bush administration that expanded government’s reach greater than FDR all the while consolidating power to the executive branch.
Cigarettes are still sold even though they are linked to health risks.
Hey John, have you actually read Orwell’s “1984”? BIg Brother: ‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'” Think “thought police,” not alleviating obesity.
James, what exactly is “over-reach” when we have white male legislators telling women what they can or cannot do with their own bodies. Abortion is always a heart-wrenching and emotionally devastating decision without the government getting involved. Drinking a big soda hardly compares.
Scott,
I don’t see abortion as a tricly one party decision. The woman didn’t get pregnant by herself. Even with invitro fertilization there has to be sperm that was clinicaly taken from a male. 2 people ought to be making the decision on aborting the baby. If a woman wants to be the only one involved in this decision then she needs to make that decision prior to becoming pregnant. She needs to either use proper protection, which isn’t 100% effective, or choose abstinence, which is 100% effective.
buddy, the point Scott was making was dead on… Abortion can be a one party decision, if a woman so desires. I love cut and dry you conservatives look at everything, like there isn’t a possibility for anything else. the woman must be a whore if she wants an abortion because the only reason people should have sex is for procreation. Whine all day how it is so wrong ‘Obama is making me buy health insurance’, but telling a woman what she should do with her body, somehow that is okay.
Well then, just give me two 16oz sodas instead of one 32oz. Or, special sale—buy two 16oz for the price of one old 32 oz. Or, maybe they will also outlaw free refills. The insanity of big gov’t knows no bounds.
While I understand that the intentions are good; it is way past time for government to leave people alone.
The purpose of government is to protect people from violence as much as possible and enable people to live their lives as they see fit.
Governments have to stop telling people what kind of light bulbs to buy, what they can eat, how much they can drink, what they can say, or what insurance to buy.
Let people live their lives. Please!
Come on are you for real Bloomberg or just a Transplnt From the Planet Stupid mabe a ban on stupidness would be better.
So great ! They will just order four drinks instead of one …NOT THE SOLUTION !!!
OK, here’s a novel idea…to end obesity how about EATING LESS and EXERCISING MORE? In other words, push that fat youknowwhat away from the table and get out and do something other than sit!
The food industry peddling fat, sugar, salt, and those “heart healthy” whole grains are simply making us addicted to this generation’s nicotine.
What I eat or drink isn’t the governments business it’s personal. There is an easy way to take care of this problem. It’s called a recall election. With time in short supply, after all you have to push the legislation through before anyone knows whaat’s going on much like Obama Care, the ball needs to start rolling now.
What’s next? Your serving of meat is too big. You are using too much detergent in your laundry. Too much shampoo on your hair. Your condom is bigger than you need. Come on. Government watchdogs are a necessary evil, but stay out of peoples lives.
Just put a tax on it. Let people decide whether it’s worth the cost to them or not.
They have no right!!
There are no laws as to how many cigarets we smoke, how much alcohol we drink or how many Twinkies we eat.
I agree there is an obesity problem in this country. The problem is the roaring stupidity amongst the public coupled with the mass availability of unhealthy food. To try to help by putting a ban on large soft drinks is also an example of roaring stupidity! (Course we’ve seen him do this before.)
How about imposing laws that require all public eateries to offer only the healthiest foods, you know, show us that you care about our health rather than screw us out of our money and feed us crap. The herd is unhealthy because the ranchers really don’t care. Take care….
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand we have tendency to get the larger size of soft drink, either because we just don’t want to get a refill, or we always want to get our monies worth(we feel). Regulating the size of a soft drink without restrictions on how many one purchases or refills doesn’t really help. But regulating the size to 16oz will help us to gradually taper our consumption over a period of time, if one wants to consume more then we certainly cannot regulate that. I feel that this move really just goes towards helping us to change our habits a little towards the better.
If Mayor Bloomberg had been born 100 years ago he would have been a “capo” in Auschwitz or Bergen-Belsen, clubbing his own into submission in exchange for a bigger piece of bread or ass…it’s all about the control,you schmucks in NYC who voted for that nazi in cashmere. You are now finding out about him and soon, Soros, the other nazi capo only in Hungary.
You cannot put “parental controls” on a nation! Why not put a monitor on everyone that monitors all behavior? NO!!!
Let’s take those tax dollars and place Health Promotion Programs in the workplace which includes setting time aside for healthy eating and exercise.
Let’s offer incentives for people to eat healthy and conrtol their weight through the work place and in the community. We need to reach people where they spend the most time (and money!).
Let us start with a campaign in every city in America in front of 7-11s to stop selling the big gulp for starters!
there is no reason to consume 64 ounces of soda at a time