The sugar police are here.
Tomorrow it will be official. New Yorkers will not be able to purchase super-sized sugary drinks at restautrants, movie theaters, sports venues and street cars all due to a cola crackdown enacted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The regulations, which put a 16-ounce limit on sugary drinks, have sparked major backlash and public debate on whether the city is allowed to interfere with what residents eat or drink.
Why shouldn’t I be allowed to drink a gallon of soda while watching a movie, after all?
But intentions behind the ban are good, I promise. I mean, it seems obvious that you wouldn’t want to gorge yourself on oversized sugar and empty calories to prevent obesity, but people aren’t seeing it that clearly. Dozens of New York residents showed up at a Board of Heath meeting in July to request a change to the proposal.
Didn’t work. Now tomorrow (in some cases today; my co-worker just walked in the office with a baby-sized cup from Subway which will be the only size they have left) Bloomberg will leave us fending for ourselves and clamoring to get whatever sugar we can to supplement our lost.
Okay, that’s a little dramatic. But there are some things you need to know about the sugar ban if you plan on working with the city to cut down on obesity. And if you want to find a way to work around the sugar ban to get your crack, you might want to read as well.
Ok, what exactly are the sugar police banning?
It’s simple. Fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Burger King won’t be able to sell a drink that’s over 16 ounces. That’s like a small, because the chains skips from a 12 ounce (kids drink) to the 21 ounce medium. So it makes things difficult for the chains because they either have to make a new size, or stick with the small drinks.
Movie theaters, delis and cafeterias are also limited to 16 ounces of sugary sodas.
So what if I want bigger sugary drinks? How can we cheat the system?
Get this, if you’re really in the mood for something that resembles the infamous Big Gulp, you can still get your fix at convenience stores, drug stores and supermarkets. The ban doesn’t apply to them.
And if that doesn’t help, ride on over to 7-Eleven because the Big Gulp lives on. Long live diabetes!
What about my coffee!? I need my coffee! Starbucks? Dunkin Donuts? Help!
Ok, seriously, calm down. While coffee drinks that are 16 ounces and smaller are unaffected, those bigger sizes can only be served if the barista adds no more than three to five packers of sugar. No need to fret; once the drink is in your hands you can add as much as you like. And big chains like Dunkin Donut’s already have guides to show how much sugar to add to their famous drinks so they’ll taste just like the originals. Baristas can add as much of those sugar substitutes like Equal, Splenda and Sweet ‘n Low to a cup, as they are not restricted by the new law for any size of coffee.
Told you there were ways to get around this.
