Bloomberg wants soda ban to go statewide so it applies to grocery stores

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is thinking bigger when it comes to his upcoming soda ban. He's calling on New York State to enact his proposal that will cap the size of sugary drinks sold at restaurants and food courts starting this March.

Beginning next month, the city plans to restrict restaurants, delis, sports venues, movie theaters and many other eateries that fall under the jurisdiction of the city's health department from selling some sugar-laden beverages larger than 16-ounces in size. Refills will be permitted depending on the establishment. The limits also do not apply to milk-based and alcoholic beverages.

Supermarkets and convenience stores are exempt because they're regulated by the state, not the city.

Bloomberg , however, said at an unrelated news conference Monday that "the state should do exactly the same thing in stores."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office had no immediate comment.

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The city says its soda size limit will curb obesity and save lives and medical dollars.

Nearly 58 percent of New York City adults and 39 percent of kids are overweight or obese, according to the city's health department. One in three adult New Yorkers either has diabetes or is pre-diabetic.

"Certainly the Bloomberg Big Gulp ban is not going to solve obesity, but you know what? It's a good baby step," sugar researcher Dr. Robert Lustig, a professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, said on CBS This Morning earlier this month. "It's going in the right direction. And it can be the slippery slope after that.

Critics say it crimps consumers' choices and hurts business. They're suing to try to block the regulation.

"It would be a tremendous waste of expense, time, and effort for our members to incur all of the harm and costs associated with the ban if this court decides that the ban is illegal," Chong Sik Le, president of the New York Korean-American Grocers Association, said in court papers filed in early February.

While the restrictions go into place March 12, the city has said there will be a three-month grace period before it starts levying fines on store owners.