Anyone living in New York City is probably aware of the current soda ban controversy.

A heated debate has been taking place for months.

However, the focus of the debate is not on soda and its potential negative effects. In a nation consumed with fear of becoming a nanny state, this soda ban has become a martyr for personal choice or the fight for your right to drink soda.

In September, the New York Board of Health passed a ban, with a landslide vote, that restaurants and concession stands can only serve sugary drinks in sizes 16 ounces or smaller. This rule targets non-diet soda and sugar-added drinks like, lemonade.

Even though the new rules will not take effect until next year, the Barclays Center, upon its opening over the weekend, is already complying with the edict. The soda ban comes after several other successful health initiatives, mostly aimed at restaurants: eliminating trans-fat and requiring that the calorie count of foods be posted.

At the helm of these bans, is the current mayor Michael Bloomberg.

While there is no doubt that Bloomberg has affected New York City in numerous positive ways, his sanity of late could be questioned. Has anyone been paying attention to some of the words coming out of his mouth lately? In a Today Show interview in June 2012, Bloomberg stated,

“We’re not banning you from getting the stuff. It’s just if you want 32 ounces, the restaurant has to serve it in two glasses. That’s not exactly taking away your freedoms. It’s not something the Founding Fathers fought for.”

Considering that a variant of soda did not arrive in the United States until the 1870’s this statement is, in fact, true. However, if any of our Founding Fathers were alive today, I can’t imagine any of them taking kindly to being told how much soda they could or could not consume.

With the upcoming mayoral election in 2013, it will be interesting to see if Bloomberg’s lead is followed by his successor, assuming that he doesn’t bend the rules for a 4th term, but that’s a whole other article!

 

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Editor: Elysha Anderson

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