May 31 (Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg intends to restrict sales of sugary soft drinks to no more than 16 ounces a cup in city restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and arenas, administration officials said.
The Health Department plans to propose the ban as an amendment to the Health Code at a June 12 meeting of the Board of Health, according to Samantha Levine, a mayoral spokeswoman.
The move to ban super-sized sugared soft drinks, first reported in the New York Times yesterday, is the latest of several anti-obesity and nutrition initiatives undertaken by the administration. It is among strategies to combat what the administration has described as an epidemic of obesity and related illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes.
"People will come to see this very much in the interest of public health," Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said today at a press conference. "This is going to start a nationwide movement toward this, a nationwide trend. I think it will prove to be very popular."
The city's health department has posted anti-sugary drink ads inside subway trains for three years. In 2008, the city required restaurant chains to post calorie-counts on menus. In 2006 and 2007, the Board of Health and City Council banned artery-clogging trans-fats from restaurants and prepared foods. In 2003, Bloomberg blocked the beverages from vending machines in schools and city-owned buildings.
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Topic: NYC Mayor Bloomberg Seeks Ban on Super-Size Sugared Drinks (Read 278 times)
