Bloomberg's Commitment to Public Health

In early 2013, Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City attempted to regulate health by proposing the Portion Cap Rule. This rule banned all food services within city limits from selling sugary drinks with a quantity of 16 ounces or more. Although this proposal was approved by the Board of Health unanimously, the New York Supreme Court rejected it, stating that this regulation was outside of their delegated authority. There is not a clearly defined boundary for where the government can and cannot interfere with the personal lives of the general public. When considering health, the placement of this boundary is often called into question. The responsibility for public health lies with both the government and the individual, as the government

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) the health of the people in the United States has not always been the greatest. With an obesity rate of 33.9 percent, which translates into over 106 million obese Americans, this has caused many problems to arise and impact the daily lives of Americans. Many have tried to help in regards to this issue by improving school foods or attempting to encourage more physical activity. Unfortunately, these may have helped but only in a small scale. However, a fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Mark Bittman believes that he may have a definitive solution. On May 25, 2016, in “Taxing Sugar to Fund a City” New York Times food journalist, Mark Bittman, by using the taxing of sugary beverages in Philadelphia - America’s poorest big city - earnestly

Question 2 – This infographic relates to Nadia Arumugam’s claim that, if not anything else, this ban may teach us about the importance of “portion control”. In her article she quotes Thomas Hardy and according to him the reduction of the consumption of sugary drinks from 20 to 16 ounces “every other week” will help New Yorkers avoid gaining about 2.3 million pounds a year. One of the problems is that people don’t realize the actual amount of unhealthy products they consume in a longer period of time.

and "Soda's a Problem..." sheds light on this idea. In "Ban the Ban!" by Sarah Hepola, the author explores the controversy surrounding a ban on smoking in public places. The story highlights the importance of individuals taking personal responsibility for their own choices.

In the essay, “What You Eat is Your Business”, Radley Balko writes to tell his audience about how the government is trying to control people’s health and eating habits by restricting food, taxing high calorie food, and considering menu labeling. Balko includes in his essay that government restricting diets and having socialist insurance is not helping the obesity problem, but it is only making it worse because it not allowing people to take their health in to their own hands so they have no drive to lose weight or eat healthy. In his essay, Balko is targeting society, including those who may be obese, he is trying to show them that the laws our

It is important for people to be able to make their own choices in their life. In New York City, the people want to ban the ban that the mayor made about soda because they feel like the ban shouldn’t impact their health and what they put into their bodies. And, they say that money can’t buy the mayor everything and that they should have freedom about what they do to themselves. In this essay there will be evidence from the text “Ban the Ban!” by Sidney Anne Stone, and “Sodas a Problem but.”

Their advertisement proclaimed that all they wanted to do was “protect their Freedom of Choice.” “This is New York City; no one tells us what neighborhood to live in or what team to root for,” says the narrator, as Yankees and Mets fans shout in the background. (Grynbaum, 2012). Since May 30 when Bloomberg wanted to ban the sale of soft drinks over 16 ounces in regulated food establishments such as movie theaters and sport arenas. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, recommended there be a federal study linking together sugary beverages and obesity. “The talking points are ‘Nanny State,’ that it won’t work, because people will just buy as much as they ever would, and that this disproportionately hurts the poor,” said Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. (Grynbaum, 2012). People that are not middle or low class would buy as much soda as they wanted and the rest of the people would be stuck with whatever drink is leftover. The lower class minority groups seem to always get the shorter end of the stick and in most cases unless a big group of them get together their voices will not be heard. The mayor or the city council should not have the right to tell you what size soda to drink or what kind of soda to drink; We live in The United States of America and there is no law that says anything about a specific size or flavor of soda so until that day comes nobody should

In New York City the mayor is trying to ban sugary sodas to decrease the amount of obesity. Two-thirds of adults in New York are overweight, 40% of elementary and middle school students fight obesity. Is this because of the intake of sugary sodas or is it the lack of self control? "Liz Berman, the coalition's chairwoman" states "We are smart enough to make our own decision about what to eat and drink."

Sugary drinks and fast foods are constantly being consumed by Americans, causing an increase in health problems. Government regulation of what we eat and drink is fair because it will increase awareness of what individuals eat and can prevent higher rates of obesity. The article by Ryan Jaslow, "Sugary drinks over 16-ounces banned in New York City, Board of Health Votes" clearly supports the banning. However, “Should the Government Regulate What We Eat?" argues that the ban puts the American values of freedom at risk. Such regulations are necessary in order to maintain a healthy environment.

The soda industry has been influential since its breakthrough such as companies like Coca-Cola “giving money to and maintaining a cozy relationship with the Global Energy Balance Network, a nonprofit that promoted exercise over diet to combat obesity, the financial relationship between soda companies and public health groups have been scrutinized” (Blackmore). The city of San Francisco is bringing back the soda tax proposition which will add 2 cents on soda per ounce. Last time around it wasn’t as successful only getting half of the votes when they needed, at least, seventy-five percent. This time around they will only need the half of votes they got the last time. San Franciscan's should pass the soda tax because it would discourage people

What if tomorrow’s news headline read, “U.S. GOVERNMENT BANS THE SALE OF KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS?” How would the country react? According to a study released by the National Center for Health Statistics (2008), “32.7% of American adults were overweight…an additional 34.3% were obese, and that 5.9% were extremely obese” (McGuinness 43). Americans are overweight and obesity is the cause of tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the nation each year (McGuinness 42). The nation is suffering a public health crisis due to overconsumption of nutritionally void food and beverages where “unhealthy eating and sedentary living has become the societal norm” (McGuinness 46). Some believe that the government should intervene by regulating American’s diets; however, others maintain that government intervention would set a dangerous precedent by undermining individual freedoms. Allowing the government to intervene is a slippery slope and could potentially lead to more intrusive actions (“Slippery Slope” 1). Instead of abrogating personal choice the government should re-evaluate the support it gives to institutions that contribute to the obesity epidemic.

Former Mayor Bloomberg was one of the best things to happen to public health. I agree with his approaches in his efforts to make New York City a healthier place. His efforts made some improvements to the public health and he has the numbers to back him up. New York City had one of its fastest declines in the smoking rate while Bloomberg was in office. Since he took office, the city's smoking rate has dropped from 22% to just above 14%. The city has also become one of the safest, with the lowest murder rate of any big city in America. Deaths from traffic and fire are the lowest since the city started keeping records in 1916. In the Article, it highlights the topic of risks and rewards. This is exactly what Bloomberg takes with some of his approaches,

Many store owners might argue that if they ban super-sized soda drinks they will be receiving less money because the bigger the drink the more it costs; however, the health of the U.S citizens is much more important because the more they consume those sugary foods and

Kothari, Wendt, Liggins, Overton, & Sweezy (2011) stated that despite decades of public health focus and intervention the U.S. continues to lag behind other industrialized countries, with high fetal and infant morality rated with the gap continuing to widen. Center for Disease Control & Prevention (2013) reported premature births affect nearly 500,000 babies, which 1 in every 8 in the United States. Prenatal care services have been proven beneficial and needed in assisting with improving birth outcomes. Kothari et al., (2011) reported there is evidence that have identified maternal obesity,

This public health policy paper will discuss and outline the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as barriers and controversies surrounding the policy and its relevance in nursing profession. The ACA will eventually affect everyone. Statistics reflecting United States health outcomes have proven the need for the initiation of policy formation within the United States healthcare system. “In March 2010, President Obama signed into law a comprehensive health reform, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).” (Estes, Chapman, Dodd, Hollister, Harrington, 2013, p. 144) The ACA promotes preventive care—including related services and family planning—that should result in improved health outcomes and