NYC Proposes Limit on Sugary Beverage Sizes
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (I) Task Force on Obesity recently
garnered national attention by proposing to limit the size of sugar-sweetened
beverages sold at local food service establishments. In a May 31, 2012, report
outlining several public health initiatives, the Task Force claims that “[s]ugary
drink portion sizes have exploded over recent years” and urges a maximum
size for these beverages as a way “to help reacquaint New Yorkers with ‘human
size’ portions.” To this end, Bloomberg has introduced a measure that—if
adopted by the city’s Board of Health at a June 12 hearing—would prohibit
restaurants, food carts, delis, movie theaters, stadiums, and arenas from
offering sugar-sweetened beverages in sizes that exceed 16 ounces.
“Limiting the size of sugary drinks to no more than 16 ounces at food service establishments will help us confront the obesity and diabetes epidemics, which now affect millions of New Yorkers,” said Health Commissioner Thomas Farley in a June 5 press release. “This intervention will begin to curb the thousands of empty and unnecessary calories New Yorkers consume from sugary drinks every year, and educate people about the health risks they pose.”
Meanwhile, the food service industry and its trade organizations have expressed concern that the initiative not only oversteps the government’s authority but would do little to curb obesity rates. “We appreciate the mayor’s concern for public health but the current proposal goes much too far. No one understands private enterprise and business better than the mayor. People want choices. Restaurants are serving the public what it wants and we all hope that will continue,” said one spokesperson for the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA). “If we want New York City to remain the restaurant capital of the world, we must stop placing these burdensome restrictions on what can and can’t be served here.”
While both the American Beverage Association and National Restaurant Association are reportedly contemplating legal action, several media sources have speculated that such attempts are likely to fail, in part because the proposal is administratively narrow and does not apply to alcohol, juices, dairy-based drinks or those with fewer than 25 calories per eight-ounce serving. “Based on history, I think [Bloomberg] has the power to do this,” New York City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. told Law360. “Although it would be better to have a law than a health department edict, because a law can’t be changed by the next health commissioner.” See The New York Times, May 30, 2012; Law360 and NYSRA Statement, May 31, 2012; Advertising Age, June 3, 2012.
