preview

Bloomberg's Commitment to Public Health

Decent Essays
Open Document
Bloomberg’s commitment to public health was certainly strong throughout his time as mayor of New York. On the one hand, he understood the importance in addressing some of the largest health issues of our time. On the other however, it seems that many of his policies were made without proper scientific evidence and backing and were made based on his own personal philosophies rather those of the people they affected. He himself said “I just spent roughly $600 million of my own money to try to stop the scourge of tobacco” {NYT}

Positive Aspects:

The Mayor took charge of the fight against numerous issues and implemented some of the strictest public health legislation in the world. Some of the more notable examples were his stances on smoking and obesity. Not only did Bloomberg make policies, which directly addressed the core cause of the issues, but also he succeeded in levying the blame and burden of these policies upon the industries that were ‘profiteering’ at the cost of the public’s health. Among the most significant of these policies were the efforts to tax sugary drinks and ban others in a move that stated that ‘the sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 fluid ounces — about the size of a medium coffee, and smaller than a common soda bottle — would be prohibited’ {NYT}. Evidently, this policy was aimed at reducing the runaway obesity rates that were being experienced in New York City. Additionally, the smoking ban in restaurants and in the work
Get Access
Related
Get Access