Battle Against Sugary Drinks: New York City Leads The Trend

NEW YORK-Despite the initial uproar over the city’s controversial move to curb rising obesity rates by banning the selling of sugary drinks in oversized containers, the ban could prove to have little effect in neighborhoods like Central Harlem.

Central Harlem is among several neighborhoods in New York City where about 40 percent of its residents drink one or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day, revealed a 2010 report by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). This data is consistent with a research study published in Diabetes Care, a journal of American Diabetes Association, which found a negative correlation between income level and sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. The high SSB consumption in Central Harlem is also supported by another survey, done by NYC DOHMH, which concluded that SSB consumption is higher among adults who identify themselves as Hispanic or racially black in New York City.

While some argue that the new policy would promote public health, many people in Central Harlem feel offended.

“Bloomberg is interfering my individual life,” said Mohammed Doucoure, a Senegalese-American who works in Central Harlem. “He doesn’t have to tell me what to drink and not to drink.”

In addition to outrage like Doucoure’s, many residents of Central Harlem also doubt the effectiveness of the regulation.

“It’s easy,” said Jammal Vincent, of Central Harlem, about getting around the law, adding: “You can buy two smaller ones to make a big one.” Vincent says he drinks soda about five times a week, with an average consumption of 20 fluid ounces each time.

José Marte, another Central Harlem resident, agreed. “If people want to drink sodas, they just go buy it and buy and buy.”

Before taking effect next March, the new policy will have to endure the soda industry’s endeavor to choke it. On October 12 the soft-drink industry filed a lawsuit against the so-called “soda ban”.

Even if many New Yorkers find ways to continue to guzzle large amounts of soda, health experts argue the regulation still has benefits.

Dr. Brian Elbel, an assistant professor of NYU School of Medicine, who specializes in studying consumer and patient decision-making, conceded that people could get large amount of soda by purchasing a combination of options. But he added, “I think the policy is meant to nudge you towards sodas of a smaller size.”

“I think it’s more working on subconscious level,” said Michelle Smith, the project coordinator of Harlem Health Promotion Center. “When people start to see the size changes, they will be thinking: ‘OK, there’s a cup here I’m drinking and I’m satisfied after this,’ rather than have this huge drink just because it’s there.”

What Ms. Smith is talking about is called “default bias”, a concept derived from behavioral economics. It means when given multiple choices, most people would stick to the default one set by the provider. So when the maximum size of sugary drinks offered decreases, consumers will grow accustomed to the smaller size. “You are not thinking that ‘I’m drinking a smaller one’, not this way. When you finish that one, you might be full and you don’t need another one,” added Ms. Smith.

The cost might also deter people from buying another drink. A bigger sugary drink costs less per unit than a smaller one due to the decrease of margin production cost. People could buy two 16 oz. cups to make one 32 oz. cup, but they will have to pay more. So the regulation would work on consumers who are more sensitive to food prices.

Obesity-related illness accounted for 20.6 percent of U.S. national health expenditures in 2005, or roughly $190 billion, according to a newly published research in Journal of Health Economics. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that 58 percent of adults are overweight or obese in 2010, the most recent year available, and it accused obesity of being responsible for about 5,800 deaths in the city per year.

As one of the biggest contributors to obesity, sugary drinks have become a target of public health advocates. In the fight against sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), New York City is not alone. From 2009 to 2011, 180 legislative and regulatory attempts to curb SSB consumption were made by 40 states. About half of them are now dead. While from 2003 to 2005, only 13 legislations concerning SSB were attempted in 9 different states, all of which were enacted. New York’s policy stands out because it is the first restriction of this kind on the city level, and it was passed when it’s getting harder to pass regulations on SSB.

Data Collected From Center for Disease Control and Prevention

“I think it will [become a national trend], as we have seen from the smoking ban. There are a lot of places in the country that have instituted the smoking ban now,” said Ms. Smith. “It may not happen right away, because the battle about it. But it’s possible.”

Meanwhile, despite all the unknowns, health experts are still optimistic that the ban can have an effect even for resistant residents of Central Harlem. “At least it will encourage people to pay more attention to the soda consumption problem,” emphasized Dr. Elbel about the positive effect of the regulation.