Big Government vs. Big Sodas: Would You Visit a City with a Soda Ban?

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

Her stories have also appeared online at USA Today, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Yahoo, Boston.com, TripAdvisor, Buzzfeed, Jetsetter, Oyster, Airfarewatchdog, and others.

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Following on the heels of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to ban the sale of super-sized sugary drinks, the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, has proposed a similar measure. The Washington Post reports that Mayor Henrietta Davis has asked the city’s health officials to research the effects of a ban.

Under New York’s proposal, restaurants and take-out joints would not be allowed to serve sugary drinks like soda (fruit juice and milk-based drinks would be exempt) in cups over 16 ounces.

The Massachusetta city, nicknamed “The People’s Republic of Cambridge” for its liberal residents and local government, already competes with Boston for tourism dollars, so would a soda ban cause tourists to take their dining and drinking dollars elsewhere? Also, Cambridge is home to MIT, Harvard, and numerous tech companies, all places where we imagine sugary drinks flow freely all day long. Would a ban cause the city’s economy to take a hit?

What do you think of the proposed soda bans? Is it something you’d take into account before deciding to visit?

Would a soda ban impact your decision to visit a city?

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