Hi Amol,

I wanted to follow up with you to see if you saw the article this past weekend in The New York Times about Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed soda ban and how the industry has created a coalition called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices. As this is an issue that directly impacts your readers, please let me know if I can forward any additional information, including a fact sheet about the link between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, or if you would like to speak with someone from the coalition about the ban.

Best,

Jesse Steinberg

646-556-9324

July 1, 2012

Soda Makers Begin Their Push Against New York Ban

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM

Lobbyists from Coca-Cola and other big soda companies have met with mayoral candidates and City Council members. Canvassers hired by the beverage industry are stopping New Yorkers on the street and urging them to sign petitions. Facebook and Twitter pages tell readers to “say no to a #sodaban.”

…

The beverage association also learned an early lesson about Mr. Bloomberg’s overwhelming influence around the city. Last year, the group retained SKD Knickerbocker, an influential consulting firm that produced advertisements for Mr. Bloomberg’s mayoral campaigns, to advise its political strategy in New York.

When a Knickerbocker spokesman, speaking for the beverage industry, denounced the mayor’s plan last month, Mr. Bloomberg’s camp was taken aback, according to several people with direct knowledge of the situation.

Allies of Mr. Bloomberg conveyed their anger to the firm. The company still represents the beverage association, but is no longer working on the soda-ban issue.