In New York City the City Council approved legislation yesterday requiring large pharmacy chains to provide translation services in the city’s most popular languages.

The bill, which was approved by a vote of 36 to 7, would apply to pharmacies with more than four locations that are under the same ownership. Opponents of the bill say it is another example of the city overregulating private businesses.

According to a 2006 survey by the New York Academy of Medicine, 88 percent of randomly selected pharmacists served people who spoke only limited English every day, but 50 percent did not translate labels or did so less than once a week. About one in four New Yorkers do not speak English.

In a related announcement, Mexico City pharmacies will not be required to provide customers with product labels in any language other than Spanish.