And Nanny Bloomberg has a plan how to do it.
The proposed first-in-the-nation ban would impose a 16-ounce limit on the size of sweetened drinks sold at restaurants, movie theaters, sports venues and street carts. It would apply to bottled drinks as well as fountain sodas.
The ban, which could take effect as soon as March, wouldn't apply to diet sodas, fruit juices, dairy-based drinks or alcoholic beverages.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Wednesday that he "thinks it's what the public wants the mayor to do."
This brought a scene from George Orwell's novel, 1984, to mind:
" 'E could 'a drawed me off a pint ", grumbled the old man as he settled down
behind a glass. " A 'alf litre ain't enough. It don't satisfy. And a 'ole
litre's too much. It starts my bladder running. Let alone the price." . . . In his lean throat the sharp-pointed Adam's apple made a surprisingly rapid
up-and-down movement, and the beer vanished. Winston went to the bar and came
back with two more half-litres. The old man appeared to have forgotten his
prejudice against drinking a full litre.
So . . . if the 20-oz. drink is no longer available to the masses, would they not simply order two 16-oz. drinks. And thus consume thirty-two ounces? George Orwell wrote his book in 1948 (yes, he simply transposed the last two digits of the year to arrive at the title). If the old man proletariat in the pub reflects a side of human nature that Orwell observed in his time, I am guessing that same nature has not changed much since then.
Perhaps safe parks and pools that are clear of gangs and drug dealers could help the kids get outside.
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