Updated 06/04/2012 10:58 PM
NY1 Exclusive: Majority Of New Yorkers Fall Flat On Support Of Large Soda Ban
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While Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been busy trying to sell his plan to ban the sale of large sugary drinks, an exclusive NY1-Marist College poll finds most city residents are sour on the idea. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report. Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants to take away big sodas from New Yorkers. He wants restaurants, movie theaters and sports stadiums to be prohibited from selling sodas or other sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces.
View full methodology and results.
The soda ban questions in the latest NY1/Marist College poll have a margin of error of +/- 4.5 percentage points. The June approval rating for the mayor has a margin of error of +/- 5 percentage points, while his April rating has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.
"All we are trying to do with full sugar drinks is to give people encouragement to do things in moderation," the mayor said on Sunday.
What do New Yorkers say? "Fuhgetaboutit."
"I really don't think that's like a great thing to do. People got to make up their own mind," says one New Yorker.
"I think it's ridiculous. I think he should let people live as they want," says another.
An exclusive NY1-Marist College poll finds most New Yorkers are opposed to the mayor's plan, as 53 percent say it is a a bad idea and only 42 percent say it is a good one.
Most New Yorkers, 52 percent, say they are not convinced it will work. Only 45 percent say they think a ban on large sodas and other sugary drinks will help people lose weight.
There were some shifts in the poll results based on gender and geographic location. For instance, the poll found women are more supportive of the mayor's proposal than men. In Manhattan, a majority of residents actually like the idea.
Despite some negative feedback on the proposed soda restrictions, the mayor's approval rating is staying steady.
"Although the ban may not be particularly popular, it's not affecting the mayor's general standing with voters around New York City," says NY1/Marist College pollster Lee Miringoff.
About 45 percent of voters say the mayor is doing an excellent or a good job. That is a slight improvement from his approval rating in April, 44 percent.
But it seems few New Yorkers will be affected by any prohibitions that take effect, as 52 percent say they never buy sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces when they go out to eat. Only 17 percent of New Yorkers say they do it often or very often.
Among that last group, criticism of the mayor's plan is quite strong. About 64 percent of regular soda guzzlers say the ban is a bad idea.