Bad News For Mexicoke Fans

Via the New York Post:

“Mexicoke,” the Mexican version of Coca-Cola that’s become a cult favorite north of the border may go the way of New Coke thanks to a Bloomberg-style “fat tax.” Arca Continental, the second largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America, has indicated it may drop a key ingredient, cane sugar, after Mexico’s congress last week passed a levy of an extra peso — about 8 cents — per liter for soft drinks sold in the country. Instead, the firm said it may switch to cheaper corn syrup to stay profitable.

Mexicoke is carried by many NYC bodegas, but few major retailers do.

Judge Blocks NYC's Big Gulp Ban

New York City's ban on large sugary drinks was to go into effect tomorrow, but today a state judge blocked the city from enforcing the new law.

The city is "enjoined and permanently restrained from implementing or enforcing the new regulations," wrote New York Supreme Court Judge Milton Tingling, blocking the rules one day before they would have taken effect. The city's chief counsel, Michael Cardozo, pledged to quickly appeal the ruling. In halting the drink rules, Judge Tingling noted that the incoming sugary drink regulations were "fraught with arbitrary and capricious consequences" that would be difficult to enforce with consistency "even within a particular city block, much less the city as a whole."

Some city restaurants have already ordered thousands of smaller size glassware.

Nanny Bloomberg Goes After Soda

Add soft drinks to the lengthening list of products on Bloomberg's hit list. The above poster is now plastered all over the subway system.

Mayor Bloomberg defended the graphic posters. “What do you want to do? Do you want to have people lose their legs?” Bloomberg said Tuesday. “Or do you want to show them what happens so that they won’t lose their legs? Take your poison. Which do you want?” Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said the ads are needed to warn consumers about the massive portions they are eating and drinking. “The portion sizes that are marketed are often much more than humans need,” said Farley. “We are warning people about the risks of super-size portions so they can make more informed choices about what they eat.

Other vivid campaigns from the NYC Department of Health have included graphic depictions of smoking-related cancers.

A Sin Tax On Soda

Congress is considering adding a "sin tax" to sales of soft drinks, energy drinks, and other sweetened beverages both to reduce consumption and raise revenue for President Obama's health care plan.

The Senate Finance Committee has a session scheduled today to hear varying proposals from experts who've been looking for ways to help finance President Obama's proposed universal health care plan, expected to cost $1.2 trillion. Among the leading proponents of the idea is the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a longtime crusader for less sugar, salt and other harmful food additives. It advocates a federal excise tax on sugary sodas as well as energy and sports drinks and sweetened tea drinks. Diet sodas would get a free ride. Current thinking is that a tax of three cents per 12-ounce drink would generate about $24 billion over the next four years.

Doritos are next, people.