Portion Size Prohibition

Yesterday, New York’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene heard public comments on the portion-size soda prohibition proposed by New York’s Mayor Bloomberg. It would bode well for Bloomberg to remember that there’s a large difference between encouraging people to eat healthy and forcing them with the power of the law; the difference between democracy and totalitarianism. And just to play devil’s advocate, if by some bizarre chance Bloomberg is able to pass a portion size prohibition on sugared drinks, what’s next? Will it be so far fetched to then have bans placed nationwide on the size of snack chip bags, movie popcorn containers, or the size of your morning caffeinated beverage of choice? If such bans become more common place than common sense, will authorities than prohibit the number of such items that can be purchased at one time? Because if someone tells me I can’t have one big item, then obviously they’re forcing me to purchase two of the same smaller sized items. If I want 32 oz. of something, I will have 32 oz. Come on folks, this is a path we don’t want to travel down. In the end, no one wins from costly, restrictive regulation.