In a Gallup poll released today, 69 percent of voters said they oppose a law that would limit the size of soft drinks sold in restaurants to no more than 16 ounces.  These poll results come after a New York Supreme Court judge ruled in March that the New York City Board of Health could not enact a ban on soft drinks larger than 16 ounces.

Opposition to the soda ban is widespread, leaving us here to wonder – who actually supports it?   Since Mayor Bloomberg’s Board of Health first proposed the ban, numerous independent public polls have found a clear opposition to this kind of government overreach. In June 2012, a Rasmussen Reports poll found 65 percent of voters would oppose a law to ban the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces. That same month, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 64 percent of Americans oppose the soda ban.  And an August 2012 New York Times poll found 60 percent of New Yorkers opposed the ban.

According to Gallup analysis, today’s poll results show that:

“Americans may think that limiting the size of beverages may be too much of a government encroachment into individual freedom, and the choice of beverage size should be left to consumers and businesses, not the government. This would be consistent with Gallup's finding that more than half of Americans still say the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses.”

We agree.  People can decide for themselves what to eat or drink, and in what quantities.