- Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to outlaw sugary drinks over 16 ounces
- Now health experts say ban should be widened to include other snacks
By
Daily Mail Reporter
10:10 EST, 13 June 2012
|
13:14 EST, 13 June 2012
Health experts in New York want to widen the proposed ban on super-sized soda to include juices, milk shakes and even popcorn, it emerged today.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans to outlaw sugary drinks over 16 ounces (1 pint) in the city’s restaurants, delis, food trucks, movie theatres and sporting arenas.
Now officials charged with deciding on whether it should come into force have suggested they would be in favour of incorporating other unhealthy snacks.
Crunchtime: Health bosses in New York want to include popcorn and other unhealthy snacks in the proposed ban on super-size sodas (file picture)
Ban: The government wants to outlaw super-sized soft drinks, pictured, and almost half of New Yorkers are behind the policy
At a meeting in Long Island City,
Queens, yesterday, Dr Bruce Vladeck, a member of the city’s Board of
Health, said: ‘Popcorn isn’t a whole lot better from the nutritional
point of view than soda is, and may have even more calories.’
Seconding the concerns, Dr Joel Forman
said some juice and milk-containing beverages have ‘monstrous amounts
of calories in them’, it was reported in the New York Daily News.
‘I’m not so sure what the rationale is not to include those,’ he added.
Earlier at the meeting, it was
revealed that the city’s obesity crisis causes 5,800 deaths a year and
costs taxpayers $4billion annually.
Vladeck and the 11 other members of
the board voted to approve holding a public hearing on the ban next
month to take place on July 24.
What’s allowed: The ban won’t apply to 8oz cans, 12oz bottles, 16oz bottles, but will apply to 20oz bottles in restaurants, sports stadiums and movie theaters
Sweet: If Bloomberg has his way, any soft drink over 16 ounces will be banned by March 2013
A final vote on the big soda ban is expected in September, with law taking effect in march 2013 if approved.
In a recent poll, New Yorkers were
split on Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial ban, with just under half of
Big Apple residents agreeing it’ll help people shed weight and the rest
saying it won’t make a difference.
Just over half said the ban was an example of the government going too far, while 42 per cent said they thought it would be good health policy.
Of the 500 adults surveyed for the
NY1-Marist poll, 45 per cent said they thought the ban would help people
lose weight, while 52 per cent said it wouldn’t have any impact.
More than half the people surveyed said they never order a sugary drink large enough to be banned.
Mixed: In the poll, 45 per cent of people said they think they ban would help people lose weight, while 52 per cent disagreed
The
pollsters contacted people at random on cell phones and land lines on
Sunday to get the results, which have a margin of error either way of
4.5 percentage points.
The proposal would make New York the first American city to directly limit portion sizes in an effort to tackle obesity.
Marc La Vorgna, a spokesman for Bloomberg, was pleased that nearly half of the city’s residents were behind the ban.
‘We
didn’t propose it because we thought it would be popular, but it should
come as no surprise that the numbers are so close since New Yorkers
always have had an openness to bold ideas when taking on intractable
problems,’ he said in a statement.
Nanny: Mr Bloomberg, pictured, has been criticised for banning bad foods
Expansion: Mayor Bloomberg claims sugary drinks are behind the city’s high rates of obesity
Under the proposal, regular soda and
sports drinks would be affected, while diet sodas wouldn’t and any drink
that’s more than half milk or more than 70 per cent juice would be
exempt.
Grocery stores and many convenience stores are regulated by the state and wouldn’t be impacted.
The
controversial ban has been denounced by the soft-drink industry and
critics who accuse the mayor of trying to institute a ‘nanny state’
rather than allowing individuals to make their own choices.
Restaurants that don’t fall in line with the ban will be slapped with a $200 fine.
According to the New York City Health Department, 34 per cent of adult New yorkers are overweight and 22 per cent are obese.
Obesity also kills thousands of New Yorkers every year and costs $4 billion in health care.
