By Rosa Najera, Contributor
Sodas and sugary drinks are under attack in the big apple!
Call it what you want, pop, coke, soda, soda-pop, but once March 2013 hits, large sized soft-drinks will be banned in New York City.
New York City’s mayor proposed a ban on sales of large sodas and sugary drinks at restaurants, street carts and movie theaters. This means that the sale of soda and sugary drinks larger than 16 fluid ounces will be prohibited.
The ban is one of the mayor’s efforts to combat the obesity rate in New York, where half of the adults are either obese or overweight.
But some New York City residents say that this ban crosses the line of personal freedom.
I disagree and applaud the mayor for implementing this ban. I think it’s a step in the right direction.
Not too long ago, I can remember that the now medium sized drinks WERE the large sized drinks. A 16 ounce Coke contains almost 200 calories. Our consumption of sodas and other sugary drinks has contributed to the rise of the obesity rates in the United States.
This ban is not perfect and won’t solve the obesity problem in New York City, but it will help cut some calories from everyone who goes out to eat or to the movies.
In the end, I think this ban should benefit children the most. The sale of sodas has been prohibited in many schools already, so I don’t think it hurts to take that same mentality out of school doors and apply it to the general public.
