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Blow dealt to Bloomberg’s bold sugary drink rules
Monday, news came that a court had struck down Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to tax large sizes of sugary drinks. From the Wall Street Journal: In halting the drink rules, Judge Tingling noted that the incoming sugary drink regulations were “fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences” that would be difficult to enforce with consistency “even within a particular city block, much less the city as a whole.” “The loopholes in this rule effectively defeat the stated purpose of the rule,” the judge wrote. Read the complete ruling here.
The ruling is unfortunate. Barry Popkin, PhD, W. R. Kenan Distinguished Professor of nutrition at UNC-Chapel Hill (see more below) and others have shown that sugary drinks account for a substantial part of our expanded girth. People don’t need large quantities of these drinks for survival or health. Making them harder to get is a good public health strategy. Reducing the obesity epidemic in America requires bold strategies, and Bloomberg has the right idea.
From Carolina in the News
Credit: Gernot Hensel/EPA
Obese World Cup soccer fans get extra wide seating in Brazil (ABC News)
…As one of the largest producers of sugar in the world, part of Brazil’s weight problem stems from an insatiable appetite for sweets, especially in liquid form, said Barry Popkin. “More than 18 percent of their calories come from beverages, which is only slightly lower than the U.S.,” he said. “Sugar in food is just an empty calorie, but when added to coffee, soda and other drinks, it adds calories but doesn’t reduce consumption.”
Happy Tuesday. Barbara
Comments
Sugar is so bad any refined food should be taxed higher! Here in China not as many people drink this stuff and I dont see half as many Obese people
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The views expressed in this blog are Barbara Rimer’s alone and do not represent the views and policies of The University of North Carolina or the Gillings School.
Pauline Vespoint