The Center for Consumer Freedom, a group formed in 1995 with finacial backing from Philip Morris to lobby against smoking bans and food and beverage restrictions, placed an ad featuring New York Mayor Bloomberg dressed lik a Nanny lording over the city’s skyline.
The ad, which carries the tagline, “New Yorkers need a Mayor, not a Nanny,” opposes a ban proposed by Bloomberg which would make it illegal to serve sugary drinks larger than 16 oz. in size. The proposed ban is inline with Bloomberg’s recent efforts to, it seems, make New Yorkers healthier.
Of the ban, Bloomberg said, “It’s purely education. It forces you to see the difference, in the case of the two different sized cups. The public does act when they get the information. And all we’re doing here is saying, ‘If you want to order 32 ounces of soda, in a restaurant that we supervise, this restaurant must give you two 16-ounce glasses.'”
And in an interview with Dian Sawyer regarding the ban’s detractors, Bloomberg said, “Would you suggest that if there’s asbestos in the building we stay away and just let people walk in and out of the building and die from cancer? I don’t think so,”
Of course, the bottom line is that no amount of legislation is going to make people lose weight and/or become healthier. That’s a personal lifestyle decision.
