Judge Strikes Down New York’s Large Soda Ban

The Takeaway

It’s the policy that drew comparisons to over-bearing parenting and prohibition: Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s large soda ban.
It was scheduled to go into effect beginning today, but before it could, New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling struck it down yesterday afternoon.
The ban would have prohibited the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces at stores, restaurants, and food carts regulated by the city. Violating the policy would have resulted in a $200 fine.
Now that it’s been struck down, some New Yorkers are rejoicing, and others are wondering why it received so much opposition in the first place.
Ronald Bayer  is a professor at the Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health at Columbia University. He thinks the judge made a mistake in striking down the soda ban.
But  Georgianna Donadio  thinks the ban would not have worked. She’s a behavioral health researcher and educator and the author of “Changing Behavior.”

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.