Coke Pushes Back Against Bloomberg Soda Ban

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to limit the size of sugary drinks sold in New York City is getting some push back from the world’s largest purveyor of soft drinks. A Coca-Cola executive tells USA Today that Bloomberg’s proposal lacks scientific evidence.

"There is no scientific evidence that connects sugary beverages to obesity," Katie Bayne, Coca-Cola's president of sparkling beverages in North American, told the paper in an exclusive interview.

Bayne said that at the same time obesity was rising between 1999 through 2010, beverage consumption of sugary drinks was dropping. She said during the decade sugars from soda consumption fell 39 percent as the percentage of obese children rose 13 percent and obese adults 7 percent.

Nonetheless, Bloomberg spokeswoman Samantha Levine, said, "The fact remains sugary beverages are a key driver of the obesity crisis that is killing 5,800 New Yorkers and costing the city $4 billion annually."