Bloomberg wants sugary soft-drink limit

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg continued his battle against obesity Thursday by proposing a regulation to ban the sale of large containers of sugary soft drinks in sit-down restaurants, fast-food outlets and entertainment venues.

The proposal is expected to go through a public review process before being approved by the city's Department of Health later this year and going into effect by next March, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said at a City Hall news conference.

Bloomberg was talking about the proposal live on MSNBC at the time and did not attend the news conference.

Farley said the soft drink industry promotes big servings by lowering the unit price. A typical 12-ounce soda costs 9.1 cents per ounce, while a 42-ounce serving cost 5 cents per ounce, he said.

"The evidence shows that we have a crisis of obesity and this is influenced by what the [soft drink] industry is pushing," Farley said.

The proposal was quickly criticized by the industry. "The people of New York City are much smarter than the New York City Health Department believes. We are transparent with our consumers. They can see exactly how many calories are in every beverage we serve," the Coca-Cola Co. said in a statement.

A Starbucks company representative said many of the company's beverages would not be covered by Bloomberg's proposal. "As Starbucks offers more than 170,000 ways to customize your beverage, we believe many of our beverages would fall outside of the proposed ban."

The administration's proposal would impose a 16-ounce limit on the size of sugary drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues, delis and street carts. It would apply to bottled drinks as well as fountain sodas.

It would not apply to drinks sold in grocery or convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven, which are regulated by the state, Farley said.

Violators could face fines of up to $200.

Desiree Ben of Brooklyn, the manager of a Checkers restaurant near City Hall, said she thinks the rule would actually lead customers to drink more soft drinks. "Instead of buying a 24-ounce, they're going to buy two 16-ounces. If a person wants to be obese off soda, that's their prerogative."

Alan Lerazer, 65, of Little Italy, also thought it was a bad idea. "He can polish the apple to the end, he will not get anything out of it," he said. "I think it is a dictature at this point. What Bloomberg has been able to do here is very, very superficial."

But Margaret Taylor, 83, a resident of Greenwich Village, called the proposal "an absolutely good idea."

"Obesity is a health problem and there is some connection between soft drinks and obesity, and that leads to diabetes, and leads to health problems for everybody," Taylor said.

With Maria Alvarez

and Igor Kossov