Fearful that stricter limits on soda sales in New York City could incite a national trend — and a long-term erosion of profits — the nation’s sweetened-beverage companies plan to continue campaigning against Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s restrictions on large sodas, even after the plan’s expected approval on Thursday by the Board of Health.
Officials in the soft-drink industry, while conceding they cannot win the vote by the mayor-appointed board, say they will do whatever is necessary to stop the plan before it can be put in effect in March, including a possible legal challenge and continuing discussions with lawmakers.
“Mayor Bloomberg will not be mayor forever,” said Eliot Hoff, a spokesman for New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, the industry-sponsored group that has spent more than $1 million on a public-relations campaign against the mayor’s plan, which would limit the size of sugary drinks to 16 ounces in the city’s restaurants, movie theaters and other venues. “It’s important for us to have our voices heard for the next administration.”
To the soda industry’s chagrin, Mr. Bloomberg’s plan has generated widespread interest in the debate about soft drinks and obesity, an issue that had lurked mostly in academic journals and Washington policy circles. A defeat of the mayor’s measure could be a deterrent for other cities considering similar steps.
New York City, with its much-copied bans on trans fats and smoking in bars, is often a leader in public health policy around the country. On Wednesday, McDonald’s announced that it would include calorie counts on its fast-food menus nationwide, expanding a practice pioneered by the Bloomberg administration at chain restaurants within the five boroughs.
“We know the country is watching,” said Mr. Hoff, whose group has tried to frame the mayor’s plan as an infringement on freedom, not fatness. (A poll taken last month by The New York Times found that 6 in 10 city residents said the ban was a bad idea.) During a planned six-month gap between the Board of Health’s vote and the enactment of the restriction, the industry could seek an injunction from a judge or an outright rejection of the restrictions by the courts.
Soft-drink officials would not comment on a potential lawsuit, but Robert Bookman, a lawyer who often represents New York City restaurants and who has been contacted by soft-drink industry officials to discuss legal options, said that industry lawyers might argue that regulating container sizes was an improper or overreaching use of the Board of Health’s powers. Another line of attack could focus on whether New York City, as a municipality, has the authority to place restrictions on sales of soft drinks, which could be interpreted as a form of interstate commerce, Mr. Bookman said.
The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, rejected those arguments in an interview on Wednesday, noting that the Board of Health has historically had a broad purview to protect public health. But he said he would not be surprised to face a lawsuit on the measure.
“We were the first city to ban trans fats; we were one of the early cities to prohibit lead in paint,” Dr. Farley said. “You can understand why the industry feels the stakes are high here in New York City.”
“The Board of Health has been doing this sort of thing for 150 years,” he added. Of the soft-drink companies, he said, “If they are serious about trying to reduce the obesity epidemic, they should cooperate with us.”
Mr. Bloomberg’s plan has been the focus of much attention, and some skewering: the mayor of London suggested that his city would offer sanctuary to “refugees from the soda tyranny in New York.”
It has also cast a spotlight on similar measures in other cities.
A Los Angeles city councilman, Mitchell Englander, said his plan to bar soda from some city parks and libraries had attracted little attention before Mr. Bloomberg’s proposal. After that, he said, the soda industry began pushing back hard.
“When the press started picking up on it, it rattled the wolves’ cage,” he said in an interview, saying his office had been contacted by industry lobbyists and received hundreds of messages about the plan. But while Mr. Englander said he stood by his proposal, he was less impressed by Mr. Bloomberg’s measure.
“It’s government overreaching, and telling people what they can and can’t do,” Mr. Englander said. “That’s really been the conversation around his.”
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