Bloomie’s Fight against Sodas

Rudy Giuliani battled crime during his eight years in City Hall; his successor Michael Bloomberg was hoping to provide a legacy by protecting New Yorkers against themselves. His offensive against cigarettes, banished from Central Park, his war on villainous “trans fats” — hydrogenated fats in restaurants — made a bigger impression on minds and the media during the three terms of the first multibillionaire city mayor than his equally frenzied hunt for illegal weapons. He was left with perhaps the most difficult task of all: limiting his citizens’ soda consumption by prohibiting the sale of these sugary drinks in cups of more than 16 ounces in restaurants, fast food joints and cinemas. It has failed, for now.

A state supreme court justice has just declared the law “arbitrary and capricious,” clearly dictatorial. Bloomberg is paying here for his despotic behavior, already condemned four years ago when, by a historic exemption from New York electoral regulations, he obtained the right to seek a third term at City Hall.

His fight against obesity mainly involved the most disadvantaged areas and neighborhoods, condemned to junk food and taken care of by the public medical services of the city. However, the poor want to continue drinking their Coca-Cola unhindered from a gallon bucket. Bloomberg, who leaves office at the end of the year, cared little about the unpopularity of his therapeutic measures; his personal fortune, with which he has directly financed all his campaigns, also meant he could avoid having anything to do with the powerful food-processing and soda lobbies. However, the titans of cholesterol and glucose enjoy excellent relations with black associations such as the NAACP, who clearly approved the decision of the judge. Bloomberg is appealing, but he will soon no longer be mayor. Will his successor also concern himself with New York’s waistline? Probably not …