New York City soft drink size limit

The Sugary Drinks Portion Cap Rule, a.k.a. the Soda Ban, is a limit on soft drink size in New York City intended to prohibit the sale of many sweetened drinks more than 16 ounces (0.47 liters) in volume to have taken effect on March 12, 2013. On June 26, 2014, the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, ruled that the New York City Board of Health, in adopting the regulation, exceeded the scope of its regulatory authority. The regulation is currently codified in section 81.53 of the New York City Health Code (title 24 of the Rules of the City of New York).

Under the plan, all New York City regulated restaurants, fast-food establishments, delis, movie theaters, sports stadiums and food carts would be barred from selling sugar-sweetened drinks in cups larger than 16 ounces (0.5 liters). The regulation would not apply to drinks sold in grocery stores including 7-Eleven, which are regulated by the state. In addition, the regulation would exclude: drinks that were more than 70 percent fruit juice, diet sodas, drinks with at least 50% milk or milk substitute, and alcoholic beverages.

The regulation was strongly supported by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and continues to be supported by his successor, Mayor Bill de Blasio. Approximately 32,000 written and oral comments were received in support of the proposal and approximately 6,000 comments were received in opposition. Opponents include beverage companies such as PepsiCo and their independent bottlers and distributors serving the city, which have launched campaigns against the limit. These opposing companies claim the limit would affect lower income families in a negative way. The proposed regulation was also opposed by New York State Conference of the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, a representative organization for 90 Latino nonprofit agencies providing health and human services in the New York metropolitan area. Coca-Cola has been a major sponsor of the NAACP initiative for healthy eating. Pepsi and Coca-Cola have sponsored the NAACP New York State chapter annual conferences and Coca-Cola was the 2014 co-chair of the Hispanic Federation Gala. City attorneys say the number of ounces doesn't matter, and that the number lacks scientific evidence.

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