Daily Rounds: Big Gulp Ban; Medical Device Tax; Not Talking To Docs; Scent Of The Old

New York plans to ban sale of big sizes of sugary drinks (The New York Times) - "New York City plans to enact a far-reaching ban on the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks at restaurants, movie theaters and street carts, in the most ambitious effort yet by the Bloomberg administration to combat rising obesity. 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 under the first-in-the-nation plan, which could take effect as soon as next March.}

Med tax just dumb (Michael Graham opinion in The Boston Herald) - "Opposing a tax on medical devices should be a Bay State no-brainer. According to The Wall Street Journal, Massachusetts is a hub for the entire industry, and we’re lucky to have it. The industry claims to employ more than 350,000 people nationwide, at an average salary of $70,000. That’s the income level families need in high-cost Massachusetts. So why aren’t all 10 Massachusetts Democrats on board? Oh, wait — I forgot: They all supported Obamacare."

Afraid to speak up at the doctor's office (The New York Times) - "One thing has been missing in nearly all of these earnest efforts to encourage doctors to share the decision-making process. That is, ironically, the patient’s perspective. Now a study published in the most recent issue of Health Affairs has begun to uncover some of that perspective, and the news is not good. In our enthusiasm for all things patient-centered, we seem to have, as the saying goes, taken the thought of including patient preferences for the deed."

Old people smell different, not worse (NPR-Shots) - "Old and young people do give off distinctive odors, according to a study just published online in the journal PLoS ONE. Researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia and Sweden's Karolinska Institute found that people can reliably distinguish the body odor of elderly people from a whiff of the young or middle-aged. But contrary to the stereotype, the characteristic odor of the elderly is actually pretty neutral. And it's a lot more pleasant than the body odor coming from younger folks — especially the guys."