Bloomberg’s soda ban irrelevant

Last week, New York City’s Board of Health initiated a mandate to limit the sale of soda. This March, all of your favorite liquid candy will no longer be sold in sizes larger than 16 ounces in restaurants, movie theatres and street carts. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed this policy in response to a statistic launched by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene claiming that 58 percent of adults in the area are obese. So, this means we should cut everyone off at 16 ounces, right? Wrong.

Let’s face it, there are more important things to worry about than the sugar content in soda. This mandate seems microscopic compared to what is going on with the rest of the country, especially with the election rapidly approaching. Why now? It seems that there are plenty of more large-scale problems happening in New York City, so why does the soda ban mandate have to be in the forefront?

The fact is since we’re in close proximity to New York City, the most densely populated city in the nation, this mandate will set a precedent for the rest of the country. It seems like this mandate could easily be replaced with a Surgeon General warning label. Locking soda up and throwing away the key seems counter-productive to the issue at hand. If people want soda, they’ll find a way to get it. How about buying two bottles of soda instead of one? Better yet, people will find ways to profit off of this mandate. In times of desperation, soda addicts will shell out the money to get their fix. Obesity will always be an issue, but is it the nation’s job to tackle it, or the individual’s?

To all the soda lovers out there, fear not. The mandate still supports soda being sold in state-regulated establishments. At the end of the day, you’ll still be able to get your sweet carbonated treat at your local grocery store.