New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is urging New York State to follow his lead in enacting a ban on the sale of large sugary drinks in stores.
The ban in New York City is set to start March 12 and prohibits the sale of sugary drinks in cups or containers in excess of 16 ounces in restaurants, eateries, stadiums and other food vending establishments.
The penalty for establishments that violate the ban will begin in the middle of June.
The "soda" ban, as the controversial policy has come to be known, does not affect stores like 7-Eleven and supermarkets because state government regulates them.
But Bloomberg wants New York State to enact the same policy.
"The state should do exactly the same thing in stores," he said at a news conference in Brooklyn.
Bloomberg did not elaborate on what he meant in his news conference by mentioning the state.
But it is clear that not everyone is content with the soon-to-be ban.
"The soda ban is exceedingly unpopular with New Yorkers. It increases the cost of doing business in the city and will have no impact on the mayor's stated goal of reducing obesity," said Chris Gindlesperger, a spokesman from the American Beverage Association. "New Yorkers can decide for themselves what to eat and drink."
Bloomberg's motivation behind the ban is to control the increasingly prevalent issue of obesity.
"Kids, once they get obese, they will be obese as adults. And this year, for the first time in the world, in the history of humanity, more people will die from overeating than from under-eating," Bloomberg said in a press conference Monday. "So we're trying to do something here."
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