Everything You Need to Know About the New York Soda Ban

It's official: The New York City Board of Health on Thursday unanimously approved Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s controversial proposal to ban the sale of large sugary drinks in the majority of the city's food-serving establishments.

The law won't go into effect until March 12, 2013, and business owners will be given a three-month grace period before they'll be fined for non-compliance. But today's ruling formally puts into motion the unrolling of an unprecedented number of regulations on how residents and visitors in America's largest city will consume soda and other high-sugar beverages in the future. Here's what you need to know: