Question

Read this argument from The New York Times opinion pages. Does the author of this article agree or disagree with Nadia Arumugam? Use evidence from each article to support your answer. Answer in a minimum of five sentences.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has done a lot to help improve the health of New York City residents. Smoking is outlawed in workplaces, restaurants and bars. Trans fat is banned in restaurants. Chain restaurants are required to post calorie counts, allowing customers to make informed choices.

Mr. Bloomberg, however, is overreaching with his new plan to ban the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. He argues that prohibiting big drinks at restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and other food sellers can help combat obesity. But as he admits, customers can get around the ban by purchasing two drinks.

The administration should be focusing its energies on programs that educate and encourage people to make sound choices. For example, obesity rates have declined slightly among students in elementary and middle schools, with the city's initiatives to make lunches healthier with salad bars, lower-calorie drinks and water fountains in cafeterias. Requiring students to get more exercise has also helped.

The city should keep up its tough anti-obesity advertising campaigns—one ad shows that it takes walking from Union Square to Brooklyn to burn off the calories from a 20-ounce soda. The mayor has also started adult exercise programs and expanded the program for more fresh produce vendors around the city.

Promoting healthy lifestyles is important. In the case of sugary drinks, a regular reminder that a 64-ounce cola has 780 calories should help. But too much nannying with a ban might well cause people to tune out.

Citation: "A Ban Too Far." New York Times 1 June 2012, New York A26. Web. 3 Apr. 2013.

Answer 1

he agrees with nadia the author is saying that the ban will not help obesity and will not work .

Answer 2

The author of this article disagrees with Nadia Arumugam on whether or not the soda ban will work in fighting against obesity.

The author of this New York Times opinion article believes that Mr. Bloomberg “is overreaching with his new plan to ban the sale of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces” because “customers can get around the ban by purchasing two drinks”.

On the other hand, Arumugam´s article “Why Soda Ban Will Work In Fight Against Obesity; Food Regulations Have Proven Record” makes her position in favor of the soda ban very clear.  

To sustain her position, Nadia Arumugam cites Thomas Farley, commissioner of New York City’s Health Department when he said that, if the new regulation "leads to New Yorkers simply reducing the size of one sugary drink from 20 ounces to 16 ounces every other week, it would help them avoid gaining some 2.3 million pounds a year."

Furthermore, she finishes her article, stating that “judging by the impact of Bloomberg's past food and health-related regulations there's a high probability it will inspire improvement in the city's health stats.”