Beverage ban blocked: NYC nannying.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: Citings - New York City

SINCE MAY 2012, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled his improbable plan to shrink New Yorkers' waistlines by shrinking their drink sizes, he has argued that his big beverage ban would not meaningfully interfere with people's choices but nevertheless would have a substantial impact on calorie consumption. That contradiction, along with the busybody billionaire's sweeping view of what regulators may do in the name of promoting public health, proved to be his undoing in March.

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Justice Milton Tingling of State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled that Bloomberg's drink diktat, which would have imposed a 16-ounce limit on servings of sugar-sweetened beverages, was so riddled with loopholes that it qualified as "arbitrary and capricious" under state law. Responding to a lawsuit by soft drink makers and sellers, Tingling also concluded that the Bloomberg-appointed New York City Board of Health exceeded its legal authority by enacting the mayor's proposal, which he should have brought to the city council instead.

The soda serving ceiling applied to restaurants, food carts, and snack stands but not supermarkets or convenience stores. Consequently, Tingling noted, "a person [who] is unable to buy a drink larger than 16 oz. at one establishment ... may be able to buy it at another establishment...