Soda Ban or Psychological Manipulation?

Link to Article I

Link to Article II

Mayor Bloomberg's supersized soda ban proposal, which would have prohibited eateries from selling non-diet sodas larger that 16 ounces was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier this week. In order to protect the welfare of the poor communities who are suffering from the obesity epidemic, the mayor finds the ban on sodas a moral obligation. At a press conference on Monday, Bloomberg said "we have a responsibility as human beings to do something, to save each other, to save the lives of ourselves, our families, our friends." He will continue to press the issue and fight against the obesity crisis, which is expected to claim the lives of 70,000 Americans this year.

In an article by psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow, he believes that it was wise for the Supreme Court to reject Mayor Bloomberg's proposal. According to Ablow, instead of outlawing supersized sodas, tapping into people's inherint desire to be accepted and respected by the community is a more effective way of having obese individuals refrain from picking up a large soda. Instead of spending money on enforcing the soda ban, he thinks the money would be better spent on billboards to psychologically affect the way obese people feel about drinking soda in public. The idea is to have people be shameful and self conscious of drinking 32 ounce sodas so they would opt for the smaller size. This way, they are still acting on their own free will but still making the wiser decision.

The story of Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to enforce the soda ban is ethically questionable. His intentions seem to be valid, but how can one justify taking away people's rights to eat and drink what they want? Where does the line get drawn? Once the soda ban effect, what would be the next item that people would be prohibited from consuming?  On the other hand, the number of obese individuals in the US and New York City is alarming and leaders should be making efforts to get Americans on a healthier track. In any regard, Dr. Ablow's idea of psychologically manipulating individuals to stop drinking supersized sodas seems ethically wrong in my opinion. While it is important to educate the community on the harmful effects of supersized sodas and obesity, psychological manipulation can lead to further issues such as depression and low self esteem. By making people feel shameful of their actions, it sends out the wrong message to the public and children. The more positive way to affect people's psyche is to educate and promote healthy actions, not reprimand them for their actions.