New York City’s war on soda is over. For now, at least. SF Gate reports that the State’s highest court has refused to reinstate the city’s size limit on sugary drinks. However, city officials suggested they might be willing to revisit the supersize-soda ban. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, city lawyers asked the court to reverse a judge’s decision striking down the rule. The court case was also the last chance for members of beverage and trade groups to argue against the attempted city cap on sugary drinks sold in restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and arenas.

Previously, MedPage Today reported that New York City lawmakers faced a setback when lower court decision that the ban was unconstitutional was upheld on appeal.  The original regulation banned the sale of sodas and other sugary drinks that are larger than 16 ounces.  The ban was struck down and that decision was upheld on appeals because of the exceptions built into the law.

According to The Washington Post, the ban was on drinks with more than 25 calories in every eight ounces of the beverage.  It could have been originally manufactured as sweetened or a caloric sweetener was later added in.  Certain beverages were exempted, including pure fruit juices or fruit smoothies, drinks that are more than half milk including milkshakes, alcoholic beverages, and calorie-free diet sodas.  Coffee beverages that were sweetened and were composed of less than 50 percent milk come under the purview of the ban.

On one side of the debate over public policy are health officials who view the ban as an innovative anti-obesity tool. On the other side, the critics of the city measure consider it unfair to businesses and paternalistic toward consumers. Leading the critics has been the $76 billion U.S. soda industry.