Since sugars are the issue, the size of the drink should not be the factor. Perhaps we need to modify our tastes to "less sweet" and manufacturers can start marketing accordingly. If restrictions are deemed necessary, just focus on the number of grams of sugar in the beverage.

It is necessar

16 oz should be another to slake one's thirst .. except that water does a better job than sugar drinks....

I don't need the government to watch my diet for me. I can do it myself.

I do not drink very much soda and never let my kids drink much soda but we don't need the government telling us what we can drink and how much.

No soda shouldn't be banned. U shouldn't have soda all the time but it's nice to have it once in a while as a treat. I should know im a kid.

That is the stupidest, absolutely useless, grandstaning law ever written. People will buy two 12 ounce drinks instead of one 20 ounce or just refill the 12/16 ounce cup. It will have people actually drinking more, not less. Dumbest thing ever!

but cigarettes are stil legal? How can anybody vote 'yes'?...what is wrong with you people? You can't physically say no to a drink, so we need to ban it because of fat people. What's next? Only 2 scoops of ice cream. Wake up folks!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! They will just purchase as many containers as they want to drink. The legislature should be focusing on more important issues like education. Maybe they could change all the sidewalks to "treadmill walks" in NYC. GEEZ, just ridiculous.

Where does it end? Whatever happened to personal responsibility? And doesn't the government have better things to be spending their time on? How about unemployment, homelessness, crime, truancy, child abuse, etc?

Don't get me wrong, I do realize the seriousness of the obesity problem in this country, both children and adults. And I don't really think there's anyone who needs to drink that much soda. I just fear we are on a very slippery slope with regard to personal choice.

I'm also not convinced that this ban will make any difference at all in the obesity problem, despite the NYC mayor's declarations to the contrary.

Guess what. If they ban the big drinks they will buy two med to add up to what they had before. Hello.

This is government overstepping its bounds.

Also if they are band things that are unhealthy they should have banned diet drinks also. They are just as bad if not worse for your health!

The way I look at it is if you are going to ban things for health reasons, ban the obvious like cigarettes first and then I'll semi-consider bans on things like sugar.

This is what libs do. Wonderfully killing our rights.

Since some individuals don't understand the side effects of large amounts of sugar and junk food, unfortunately, the government has to step in and regulate. Children and adults obesity is national problem since we will pay more taxes to keep up with their health needs. It is my problem and your problem!

The government has many other more important issues to address, soda size is a non-issue.

Its a shame 10 people are so stupid that they feel the need for Government to tell them what to eat,drink, drive, etc.

What about booze ? Should they start selling Bud in only 8oz cans ?

The Repugs are at it again. Now you have to buy two drinks for that thirsty moment. Who reeps the profit? Big business does!

Way to kill teen romance! So much for the surrogate intimacy of: “Want to share a large soda?” I guess the kids will just have to have sex instead.

Government interference. There should be no ban. Suppose I drink water 364 days a year and one day a year I want a 32oz soda? It is not the government's business to tell me whether or not I'm allowed to by that.

Now the government should also stop interfering in the market and end the corn subsidies that are making High Fructose Corn Syrup so cheap. That will do more to let the market control healthy food. The government is pretty much subsidizing the poisoning of America.

We are becoming a police state. If this keeps up an uprising will occur. As the state becomes more restricting on little things, big items are sure to follow. We are a freedom loving people by nature and one day revolt from these rules will occur. It seems small now but this is the very reason we need to keep basic freedoms in place such as freedom of speech, press and firearms. The powers of government need to understand this is a country by the people and for the people. Some of our politicians have lost their way. We need to remind them. Elections are coming up VOTE to retain or fire our officials as necessary.

When people learn from a young age that 'manufactured' and processed junk is NOT food they are less prone to comsume this junk when they are old enough to make the decision themselves. Food manufacturers will continue to produce and sell this junk as long as there is demand for the product and the government allows them to call is food. I don't want the government telling me what I can or cannot consume, but obesity and the resulting health issues are costing everyone and not just in dollars. If Americans stopped buying junk foods, illegal drugs and cigarettes we would save trillions of our tax dollars. Stop the demand and you will stop the supply. Freedoms are not free, there is a price to pay for everything.

I say ban away. Super size soft drinks are a health hazard. You do not need them. People in general make bad decisions so ban away.

I think this makes politicians feel like they are doing something about the obesity problem, a feel-good measure, but I'm not sure it will actually solve any problems. As many people have pointed out above, why target only sugary drinks served in restaurants, and not family sized bags of cheetos or a big box of frozen Bubba burgers in the supermarket? As a taxpayer such laws bother me because they require resources for enforcement, and I think we have more urgent issues to deal with. I know here in Milford they do a lot with trying to help kids make healthy food choices in their classes and screening them for obesity. Things are starting to change, just like the tide has turned with regard to smoking cigarettes. People just need more education when they are younger.

Everyone should see this as a great law, you know, if you're stupid.

why not ban cigarettes and cigars too, malts should be banned, wait lets not forget the food chains selling 1200 calorie salads.
Rather than waste O2 on this, why not push for a legislation that says ALL foods and menus must list a calorie count on the menu / cup / package

What's next? Candy bars, ice cream...Maybe we should just ban Halloween!
The Government has nothing better to worry about??

It's a tricky one (and not as simple as Mark Cain says--or did you forget that Mr. Bloomberg, whose baby this is, was a Democrat, then more recently a Republican, and is now an Independent? So Mark, your usual stereotyping of "libs" and blaming "them" for "killing our rights" is characteristically faulty.). I think people should be allowed to decide for themselves how much sugar they want to ingest--but this law doesn't deny people that right or decision. It just limits what is considered an acceptable portion. You can still have as much as you want, though presumably you'll have to make an effort, and pay more, to obtain it. It's a kind of pressure, rather than a destruction of a right. And while I might tend to be AGAINST that sort of pressure, the thing that makes me hesitate is seeing the way cigarette companies are now treated. If people are encouraged by a fast-food restaurant to continue to accept huge, demonstrably unhealthy servings of soda as the standard or normal portion, won't there eventually be a sling of lawsuits claiming that people are obese, unhealthy, and die because of that practice? If you want the right, you have to accept that exercising that right can be very costly (to yourself and to the community), and that with the right comes personal responsibility and ACCOUNTABILITY.

It is well known that sugar-sweetned drinks, and all carbonated drinks, are damaging to your teeth and also to your health. That said, a 16 oz. limit is of no value-- especially when unlimitted refills are available. Let government stick to the bigger issues, and let us be responsible for our own choices.
Allen L Weiner, DMD, FAGD

This will so easily backfire. Does Bloomberg think the people of New York are idiots? They'll circumvent the ban by just doubling up on sodas in their purchase, which in theory could be even more unhealthy than a 16 oz. Is obesity a problem? Yes, but that's up to the individual person to do something about it; not the government deciding they can moderate sovereignty.

Im sorry Janie. I know ur 16 and u can have an abortion or a bottle of morning after pills but NOT a biggie soda. We are only concerned about ur health.

Where do bans like this end - stores won't be able to sell 2 for 1 bags of chips? Twinkies can only be purchased if you are over 21? Obesity is an issue but government bans won't eliminate the problem. Making safe streets would go further in reducing youth obesity by allowing kids to play on the streets safely. Educating and assisting parents with activities other than TV would be more helpful. Banning large drinks does not alter the behavior that created the problem.

I'm curious, for the people who agree with this ban, what you think about the fact that it only applies to soda? Many fruit juices and sports drinks actually have more sugar than soda. Also, check out coffee shops such as Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts and their Coolatas, Frappacinnos, etc. have A LOT more sugar than soda. If this law's purpose is in fact to help people with a health issue (obesity), then why are none of these other drinks subject to the ban? What do you think?

Free choice is great if you take FULL responsibility – but when you make bad food choices and become obese and unhealthy, you’re not taking FULL responsibility. Your choices add stress to your family life. You’re less healthy, so you’re less productive at work, so your employer’s costs go up, and so do the prices paid by us, your employer’s customers. Your health problems drive up the cost of health insurance we all pay, etc., etc., etc. Your unhealthy choices cost everybody, not just you. Restricting sugary drink container size is a step in the right direction – a better idea would be to tax unhealthy food, as we tax unhealthy tobacco.

I am unsure why people are so up in arms about this. Ban away, don't ban away. Who cares, really. The government controls lots of things that reach us for collective health, supposedly. I don't see an issue with this ban, though I think we have bigger worries to spend our politicians' time and our money on. I wish instead of prohibiting the bad there would be incentives for making right choices. But really, meh.

Let me get this straight, we can't keep people who use our money in the form of an ebt card from buying soda because it is "their" money and they should be able
To spend it how they like, but we can ban EVERYBODY from buying a 16 oz soda, can you say STUPID! This is supposed to be a FREE country, let me suffer the consequences of my own actions, and leave me alone!

We should have a steady diet of nouthing but Soylent Green. Healthy and recycle at the same time.

We are NOT sheep. Just give us the facts and truth in labeling and let us make our own decisions. What ever happened to the Land of the Free???

To be clear, I'm opposed to this regulation, but to those who favor it, how about a tax based on the number of grams of sugars and fats?
This is not the way to give incentives to the production and marketing of healthier foods.

This is interesting; most people do not agree with this as I do not, so why is so many man hours and dollars being spent on investigating this idea? It is crazy. As mentioned above in some of the posts, it starts with soda but then where does it end? There does seem to be other, more harmful things to ban than soda. I really think that some of these lawmakers need to look at bigger and more important issues like where spending can be cut in government, how to help those without jobs and homes. People need to take responsibility for themselves, their actions, and their habits.

Of course not. We forget too easily that this country was founded on the values of individual freedom, individual liberty, and yes, individual responsibility. It is never up to the government to tell us what to eat or how much to eat. Government can tell us the consequences of eating what we want but no government entity - or person or group of people - have the right to tell anyone what to eat or how much to eat.

Sorry folks, this country is not built as a communitary (and thankfully not as a socialistic structure either) but as a driver and enforcer of individual rights and freedoms.

Sad how even silly things like this brings out the standard left vs right ideology discussion. I lean to the left, but think this approach to the obesity problem misses the mark. It is indeed somewhat a personal freedom issue, but also a very ineffective way to tackle this big health problem. Influencing rather than dictating personal choice has always been a more effective approach.

I realzie the government is not banning the drinks but rather regulating the size. That is none of the government's business either.

A stunning 75% of Americans ages 17-24 are unfit for military service. Yes, three out of four can’t even qualify for the Army, chiefly because of education or obesity. (When I was in the Army years ago, there weren’t any star athletes or Einsteins in my unit.) And these are the young people who are supposed to compete successfully with the hungry and ambitious Chinese, Indians, and Brazilians? Our current systems have created this huge problem. “Americans are exceptional. Just keep the government out of my life” isn’t the solution.

Getting the governement involved NEVER makes anything better. Look at the job they are doing so far, 16 TRILLION in debt and climbing. Keep the government as far away from our kids as possible. Parents need to start being parents and we need to stop weakening our educational expectations of our children. Children need to be taught, mentored, influenced people they look up to and respect.

Hard decisions need to be made in this country and soon. Its going to take a leader who isnt afraid to take the heat. Not many countries children only go to school half of the year like us. There is no more money so we are going to have to come up with some very creative solutions.