BREAKING NEWS

New York OKs nation's first ban on supersized sugary drinks

By REUTERS

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 18:42

NEW YORK - New York City passed the first US ban of oversized sugary drinks on Thursday in its latest controversial step to reduce obesity and its deadly complications in a nation that is fatter than ever.

By a vote of eight members in favor, with one abstaining, the mayoral-appointed city health board outlawed sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces nearly everywhere they are sold, except groceries and convenience stores. Violators of the ban, which does not include diet sodas, face a $200 fine.

Opponents, who cast the issue as an infringement on personal freedom and called Mayor Michael Bloomberg an overbearing nanny, vowed to continue their fight, possibly by going to court in the hopes of blocking or overturning the measure before it takes effect in March.

"It's sad that the board wants to limit our choices. We are smart enough to make our own decisions about what to eat and drink," Liz Berman, a business owner and chairwoman of New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, said in a statement.

Health Commissioner Thomas Farley heralded the measure's passage as a major step toward making New Yorkers healthier and said it was likely to be copied elsewhere in the nation - and even the world - as were the city's bans on trans fats and smoking.

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