As Mayor Michael Bloomberg fights in appellate court to impose a ban on large sugary soft drinks in the city, we're hoping his high-profile public-health initiative continues to sputter and fizzle.
Give him big points for fretting emphatically about the effects of soft drinks 16 ounces or larger on the health of New Yorkers. His arguments against too much sugar are rational and wise. Obesity and diabetes are expensive and debilitating public problems. Bloomberg admirably spreads that word. But he's wrong to force his viewpoints on 8.4 million residents by mandating portion control.
The joke among dieters has always been that the NYPD needs to show up and put yellow crime-scene tape around the refrigerator. Well, Bloomberg is edging close to that.
The right prescription? The mayor should take his place among family doctors, fitness trainers and worried moms in every corner of every borough who preach -- nonstop -- the virtues of self-restraint and portion control.
He has it half-right at the moment.
Earlier this month the city rolled out a new wave of TV and subway ads aimed at fruit-flavored drinks with added sugar, saying they, too, can cause obesity and diabetes.
Nice tactic. No sweeping command. Just put your idea out there and let people decide.
That's what this country is all about, no?
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