NEW YORK -- One of New York City's most ambitious efforts to prod residents to live healthier appears poised to pass as a health panel takes up a plan to cut down sales of big-sized sodas and other sugary drinks.
Thursday's Board of Health meeting could bring the final vote on the proposal. But it may not be the final word.
The plan would bar sales of sugar-heavy drinks in more than 16-ounce cups or containers in restaurants, movie theaters and some other settings.
In Central New York, Dave Hayes at the Carrier Circle Mobil says New York City Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to ban sugary sodas over 16 ounces doesn't make any sense.
"It's ridiculous. All they are trying to do is control people's lives. It's a parents job to try and control what people eat and drink not the government," Hayes says.
Advocates of the ban include Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a roster of doctors. They say the proposal strikes at a leading cause of obesity.
Soda makers and sellers say the plan unfairly singles out soft drinks as fat culprits. A beverage industry-led group says it's considering suing if the proposal passes.
(Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.)
