The Republican of Springfield (Mass.), June 12:
With reports that violent crime in New York City has once again been on the rise, you’d think that the powers that be would be focused on assaults. Instead, they are worried about salt.
Really.
Mayor Bill de Blasio wants New York’s chain restaurants with more than 15 establishments to put an image of a salt shaker beside menu items that contain more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium. There are lots of troubles with this plan. To name but a few:
It is based on still-evolving science, seeking to place an absolute limit on something that will very likely change down the road. It forces restaurants to spend additional money ”“ and time ”“ on a regulation that may well be of little value. It adds a new, needless level of bureaucracy into what is supposed to be an enjoyable experience.
You don’t have to be an anti-government, libertarian-leaning fanatic to believe that our nation long ago passed into a realm of regulatory ridiculousness in some arenas. De Blasio’s predecessor in the mayor’s office, Michael Bloomberg, famously (and foolishly) went to war against the sale of super-sized sodas. That ill-fated move, thankfully, was ultimately turned back. We can only hope that the same happens to de Blasio’s big salt-shakeup.
The facts on salt are that the facts are evolving. Too much, of course, is bad. But so too, apparently, is too little. And how much, exactly, is too much is still being debated by members of the scientific community.
But the facts don’t stop some from assuming extreme positions. There are already those who are comparing genuine questions about salt with the cigarette companies’ longstanding efforts to fight smoking restrictions. The analogy is fallacious in the extreme. You don’t need to have graduated from medical school to see clearly that such hyperbole is both needless and counterproductive. Here’s the simple truth: Some salt is fine. The only debate is about how much is OK. But there is no acceptable level of smoking. Period. Talking about the two in the same breath is just blowing smoke in an effort to cloud the issue and end the discussion.
Such statements are best taken with more than a grain of salt.
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