David R. Just, co-director of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs and associate professor at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, comments about New York City’s ban on large sugary drinks – including coffee – that goes into effect Tuesday, March 12
Just says:
“About the soda policy: In some ways it is very odd that this targets consumption in restaurants and ballparks. The overwhelming majority of soda is bought in grocery stores. In some ways this targets only the occasional soda consumer rather than the regular consumer. It would be difficult to see how this could have much of an impact on overall calorie intake.”
“About the coffee policy: The coffee policy is just really odd. Customers can ask for as much sugar as they want in coffees below 20 ounces, or coffee drinks with enough milk in them that are larger than 20 ounces. If they happen to want a giant coffee without much milk they will need to put their own sugar in. Those who find putting their own sugar in to be inconvenient, will probably be led to increase calorie consumption by getting the drinks with more milk content. The policy is so convoluted it is unclear if it won’t actually encourage an increase in calorie consumption.”
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