NYC Seeks to Ban Cigarette Displays in Stores

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Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for legislation to make New York the first U.S. city to require stores to conceal tobacco products, a week after a court struck down his ban on the sale of large sugary beverages.

Bloomberg’s latest health initiative would mandate that tobacco products such as cigarettes be kept in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in any other concealed location. It wouldn’t pertain to advertising, leading a spokesman for the state’s convenience stores to question its logic and effectiveness.

“New York City has dramatically lowered our smoking rate, but even one new smoker is one too many,” Bloomberg, 71, said at a press briefing today at a Queens hospital, according to a statement. “Young people are targets of marketing, and the availability of cigarettes and this legislation will help prevent another generation from the ill health and shorter life expectancy that comes with smoking.”

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Judge Halts New York City Soda Ban

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A state judge on Monday stopped Mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s administration from banning the sale of large sugary drinks at New York City restaurants and other venues, a major defeat for a mayor who has made public-health initiatives a cornerstone of his tenure.

The city is “enjoined and permanently restrained from implementing or enforcing the new regulations,” wrote New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling, blocking the rules one day before they would have taken effect. The city’s chief counsel, Michael Cardozo, pledged to quickly appeal the ruling.

In halting the drink rules, Judge Tingling noted that the incoming sugary drink regulations were “fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences” that would be difficult to enforce with consistency “even within a particular city block, much less the city as a whole.”

The city rules, set to take effect on March 12, didn’t include convenience stores, such as 7-Elevens, and supermarkets, both of which are regulated by the state government.

In his ruling, Judge Tingling found the Board of Health’s mission is to protect New Yorkers by providing regulations that protect against diseases. Those powers, he argued, don’t include the authority to “limit or ban a legal item under the guise of ‘controlling chronic disease.’ “

The board may supervise and regulate the city’s food supply when it affects public health, but the City Charter clearly outlines when such steps may be taken: According to Judge Tingling, the city must face imminent danger due to disease.

“That has not been demonstrated,” he wrote.

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Taco Bell Adds Crazy Breakfast Soda to Menu

Rise and shine. Pop, pop, fizz, fizz. It’s time for breakfast soda.

Taco Bell said  it’s adding Mountain Dew A.M – a mix of Mountain Dew soda and Tropicana orange juice – to its breakfast menu, which was rolled out earlier this year at select locations. Separately, the industry tracker Beverage Digest said that PepsiCo Inc. next year plans to introduce a drink made with juice, Mountain Dew Kickstart. 

What would New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg think?

John Sicher, publisher of Beverage Digest, noted that giving consumers drink options for the morning is a way for companies to boost their performance. Overall, per capita soda consumption has been on the decline since hitting its peak in 1998.

Mountain Dew Kickstart would also be a way for PepsiCo to feed off the popularity of energy drinks, which saw sales volume grow by nearly 17 percent last year. Each of the top three brands – Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar – saw double-digit gains, according to Beverage Digest.

After months of heated debate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said his administration isn’t contemplating any changes to his proposal to ban restaurants and other venues from selling large-size sugary drinks.

A survey earlier this month from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed city voters oppose the proposal, 54% to 42%, a slight uptick from a poll in June that showed opposition at 51% to 46%.

At a recent press conference, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said,”If you ask the question, ‘Should we ban full-sugar drinks?’ you get the answer, ‘No. ‘” He added, “Unfortunately for your story line, that’s not what we’re doing. All we’re doing is saying that restaurants and movie theaters can’t use greater than 16-ounce cups. But if you want to buy five of them and drink it, you can go ahead and do it. So, nobody’s hurting anything.”

The mayor said New York City is not the first entity to dictate portion control. The companies that sell these products have been “dictating” sizes “all along,” he said.

“So, if you don’t like portion control, I would suggest you start out by going after them—they’ve been doing it a lot longer than we have been doing it,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “This is something that is in everybody’s interest.”

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic is on location in Central Park, New York City to find out people’s reactions to Mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s proposed Super Size Soda ban.

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Super Size Soda Ban Would Cut Calories for Fast Food Diners

New research finds if  NYC’s Super Size Soda ban were actually enacted, people could conceivably cut their calorie intake. Good news for Mayor Michael Bloomberg!

Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed ban caps a maximum size of 16 ounces for sugary drinks – sold in cups or bottles – at food establishments including restaurants, fast food chains, delis, street carts and movie theaters. Drinks sold at grocery and convenience stores – including two-liter bottles and 7-11′s “Big Gulp” fountain drinks – would be exempt from the ban.

New research led by Dr. Brian Elbel, an assistant professor of population health and health policy at NYU Langone School of Medicine in New York City, analyzed what impact Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal would have on a typical consumer’s calorie intake.

Elbel and fellow NYU researchers collected from diners at three different fast-food restaurants in New York City, Newark, N.J., Philadelphia and Baltimore from 2008 to 2010. Their research is published in a correspondence to the editor in the July 23 online issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Based on the receipts and corresponding survey information collected from the studies, the researchers determined that 62 percent of beverages bought at these restaurants would be over 16 ounces and subject to the mayor’s new proposal. Elbel explained to HealthPop in an interview that if 100 percent of fast food consumers switched to a 16-ounce drink from their previous order, the average consumer would take in 63 fewer calories per trip to a fast-food restaurant.

Elbel is set to present his findings during the first of three public hearings beginning Tuesday on the mayor’s proposal.

Would a best-case scenario of 63 fewer calories per person per trip to a fast food restaurant really make a dent in a diner’s health?

“I’d probably say no to that,” said Nutritionist Karen Congro, director of the Wellness for Life Program at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City, in an interview with HealthPop. “But it might get them to think about where their calories are coming from.”

Congro said calories are only “part of the problem” from drinking too much soda, and sugary drinks could affect how the body processes sugar, potentially leading to diabetes. But she doesn’t feel a ban would do much to boost New Yorkers’ health if they aren’t educated on all the health risks. She said television ads and signs or brochures in places where drinks are sold might be more effective at helping people make better choices than simply eliminating a larger sized cup.

Watch as the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic goes on location in Central Park, New York City to find out people’s reactions to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed Super Size Soda ban.

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6,000 New Yorkers Oppose Super Size Soda Ban

New Yorkers have started to petition against Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed “soda ban,” which will create size restrictions on soft drinks, juice drinks, sports drinks, flavored water and teas sold at many retail outlets.

The ban would affect delis, restaurants, movie theaters, street cars, sports arenas, corner stores and bodegas, limiting customers to only purchasing 16 ounces of these beverages.

New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, a coalition of New York restaurants, movie theaters, businesses and citizens opposed to the proposed soda ban, announced the ban currently has 62,344 signatures. The coalition is encouraging all New Yorkers to make their voices heard by filing a comment with the Department of Health in advance of a July 24 public hearing on the proposal. Canvassers are out in all five boroughs, educating New York about the impact of the proposed ban.

“These numbers are a testament to the fact that New Yorkers feel this proposal is arbitrary, ineffective and overzealous,” said Eliot Hoff, spokesman for New Yorkers for Beverage Choices. “New Yorkers aren’t just going to accept government dictating what they are allowed to drink, and in what quantities. It’s not what New Yorkers want or need.”

A total of 675 businesses have joined the New Yorkers for Beverage Choices coalition so far.

Henry Calderon, president of East Harlem Chamber of Commerce, said the proposal could be a target against small businesses by enforcing more restrictions.

“Mom & Pop shops are struggling to survive,” he said. “We cannot force them to act as mother and father to their customers, policing what they eat and drink.”

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic is on location in Central Park, New York City to find out people’s reactions to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed Super Size Soda ban.

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Million Big Gulp March Takes To Streets Against NY Soda Ban

An organization has planned a rally to oppose New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed Super-Sized Soda Ban.

NYC Liberty HQ spokesman Zach Huff says the “Million Big Gulp March” will be held in City Hall Park at 4:30 p.m. today.

It will be attended by business owners, local politicians and others against the proposed ban.

Mayor Bloomberg wants to bar restaurants, movie theaters, sports arenas, food carts and delis from selling sodas and other sugary drinks in servings larger than 16 ounces. He says it’s a way to fight obesity in a city that spends billions of dollars a year on weight-related health problems.

Opponents say the city is overstepping its authority and infringing on personal freedom.

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic is on location in Central Park, New York City to find out people’s reactions to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed Super Size Soda ban.

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Healthy Alternative to Soda

The health dangers of soda are not new. Soda consumption has been linked to an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes, as well as to rising rates of obesity. Recent research from the University of Bangor and Bristol suggests that drinking soda can actually trigger sweet cravings by dulling your sensitivity to sweet tastes, sparking a vicious cycle of eating sweet foods and drinks.

“As taste satisfaction levels drop; the more sweet foods are consumed,” Dr. Hans-Peter Kubis from Bangor University’s School of Sport, Health & Exercise Sciences said .

Isn’t it about time you and your family kicked the soda habit? Next time your thirsty, spruce up water instead of reaching for a soda. Just add slices of your favorite fruits and veggies — lemons, oranges, watermelon or cucumber — to ice-cold water for a refreshing and flavorful drink.

The happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic is on location in Central Park, New York City to find out people’s reactions to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed Super Size Soda ban.

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New York Soda Ban Gets Fizzy

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, enjoying the freedom that only a final term in office can bring, has proposed banning the sale of soda and other sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces at restaurants, sports venues, delis and food carts, effective next March.

If you want your drink super-sized, you will have to buy two — or go back for a refill.

New Yorkers seemed mixed about the proposal. While some feel outraged, others are very supportive of Mayor Bloomberg’s ban. What’s your view? Do you feel Americans ought to be able to drink nine Mountain Dews a day if he or she wants to?

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‘A Soda A Day’ Habit Hikes Your Diabetes Risk

A soda a day? That’s not so bad—a 150-calorie blip, burned off with a brisk half-hour walk. But it’s not only your waistline that’s at stake. A study  in the journal Diabetes Care found that people with a daily habit of just one or two sugar-sweetened beverages—anything from sodas and energydrinks to sweetened teas and vitamin water—were more than 25 percent likelier to develop type 2 diabetes than were similar individuals who had no more than one sugary drink per month.

Since the overall rate of diabetes is roughly 1 in 10, an increase of 25 percent raises the risk to about 1 in 8. One-a-day guzzlers in the study also had a 20 percent higher rate of metabolic syndrome, a collection of indicators such as high triglyceride levels suggesting that diabetes is not far off.

“Previous studies have shown that sugar-sweetened beverages are strongly associated with weight gain,” says lead author Vasanti Malik, a research fellow in the Harvard School of Public Health Department of Nutrition, who says the decision to examine the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of diabetes was “the logical next step.”

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