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Video: NYC's New Anti-Sugar PSA Not Pulling Any Punches
By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 31, 2011
Modified Jan 31, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jan 31, 2011
Modified Jan 31, 2011
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The latest PSA warning New Yorkers about the side-effects of excessive soda consumption seems a little boring at first. While their last spot skewed zany, with a guy pouring sugar packets into his mouth to emphasize the high sugar content of some beverages, this one starts out showing a day in the life of some random slob who pairs his depressing breakfast, lunch, and dinner with various sugary drinks. Ho-hum. Then an obese man in a motorized wheelchair appears, to demonstrate one possible outcome of such an unhealthy lifestyle. Depressing enough, but where's the shock value? Well, fasten your seat belts for the 18 second mark, when... Well, we won't spoil it, but hopefully all those carbonated beverages have given you got a strong stomach:
Ugh. After that sobering image of disgusting diabetic toes, we could really go for a Jack & Coke. The Health Department insists the graphic new ad is necessary to scare New Yorkers straight, because diabetes results in more than 22,000 hospitalizations, approximately 2,800 amputations and nearly 1,700 deaths every year. "Too many sugar-sweetened drinks are fueling the obesity epidemic," said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, in a statement. "Obesity and the serious health consequences that result are making hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers sick or disabled. This new campaign shows how easy it is to drink a staggering amount of sugar in one day without realizing it."
The new PSA can be seen on major broadcast and cable TV channels in the NYC area; it's also accompanied by new subway posters for the Health Department's “Pouring On the Pounds” campaign.
Tagged
health department
soda tax
sugar
sugary drinks
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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