New York City Should Prevail in Soda Portion Cap Appeal, Says CSPI
Statement of CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson
June 11, 2013
I hope and expect that New York City will prevail in its appeal of the injunction against the city's cap on portion sizes of sugar-based drinks. Confronted with an epidemic of obesity and diabetes, the city's health department is exactly right when it makes reducing soda consumption a major public health priority.
In the 1950s and '60s, soda consumption wasn't a huge deal. We didn't drink soda often, and when we did the containers ranged from 6 and a half to 12 ounces. But today frequent consumption of soda in containers of 20, 32, or even 64 ounces of the high-calorie, nutritionally worthless product is a major cause of Americans' record rates of obesity and diabetes. It's time to rein the soda merchants back in.
