Via NBC:
New York City’s Board of Health opened up a new, experimental front in the war on obesity Thursday, passing a rule banning sales of big sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, concession stands, and other eateries.
The board passed the proposal 8-0 with one abstention.
The regulation, which was proposed in the spring by Mayor Bloomberg and approved by a panel of health experts after several months of review, puts a 16-ounce size limit on cups and bottles of non-diet soda, sweetened teas, and other calorie-packed beverages.
The ban will apply in fast-food joints, movie houses and Broadway theaters, workplace cafeterias, and most other places selling prepared food.
I find this to be a bad idea. If you want people to stop a bad behavior, make it expensive, don’t ban it. Charge a sugar tax and use the proceeds to educate the public about how bad massive quantities of soda are for you. Demand that movie theaters and restaurants cut the amount of sugar in half if they want to keep selling half gallon soda cups. At the very least, ban soda machines from schools. But who knows? Maybe they’re on to something. I’ll guess we’ll find out in a few years.
Stupid. There is nothing in the law to prevent someone from buying two 12 ounce sodas at the same time.
I cannot believe how radically stupid this is. WTF.