Virginia Burns – WriteMC Times

While the first soda ban was not very well received, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has prompted another update. The “Sugary Drinks Portion Cap Rule,” or simple soda ban, stated that no sugary drinks would be sold in sizes greater than 16oz in New York City. This was faced with criticism in 2013 when it was proposed, and the same thing is happening now.

“I think it’s pointless,” one New Yorker, Mia Williams, told us. “Why ban Mountain Dew? It’s not like that’s the only unhealthy drink on the market, and you certainly can’t ban all of them. What’s the difference between a sugary drink and a serving of fast food?”

“I agree with him,” another resident, James Barker said. “My mother drank it all her life, and she ended up with diabetes.”

Yesterday, Bloomberg announced his reasoning. “One can of Mountain Dew contains 46 grams of sugar. That’s almost twice the amount of a chocolate bar. Should we really be putting this in our bodies? Giving it to our children?”

He presented a bottle of the drink to the crowd. Most cheered for it, and booed when he took it away. Two new hashtags, #mtdew4pres and #giveusoursoda have been sweeping across social media platforms including Twitter and Instagram.

Due to the controversy of the idea, it is believed by many that this will not be passed. According to a recent poll, 69% are against it, 21% are supporting, and 10% are neutral or undecided. 

Bloomberg is running for president in the 2020 elections. It is unclear if this will greatly affect his campaign. Information in this article is up to date as of January 30, 2020.