Health Officials Want Sugary Drink Tax in New York State
New York – The health commissioner of New York City, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, has published an article with Yale official Kelly D. Brownell, that supports large taxes on drinks that contain sugar, like soda. This tax could be the biggest public health issue since the tax on tobacco was imposed, according to the article’s authors, and comes just a month after New York Governor David A. Paterson stopped trying to pass his soda tax, which would have increased tax on non-diet soda by eighteen percent. Paterson’s bill seemed doomed, and in March he dropped it because of opposition from the public and other industry leaders.
The New England Journal of Medicine published the article online Wesnesday, which argues that a penny per ounce of sugary drink could reduce public consumption more than ten percent and put more than $1.2 billion in New York State’s pockets. The article states that it’s hard to believe that changes in behavior will result from only education on soda, even if government officials were designated to eliminating soda and sugary drinks all the time, and that only a tax will help reduce public soda intake.
Officials of New York City said it’s unlikely they will propose a sugary drink tax, as it would need the State Legislature’s consent. The spokesman for the mayor of New York City, Marc LaVorgna, said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg like the cutting-edge ideas the city commissioners were planning and developing, but a soda tax isn’t something they’re interested in, because of the enormous outcry they’re receiving from all sides.
A statement was issued on Wednesday from the American Beverage Association, that said while obesity is a serious problem, it’s not one that will just go away by taking soda out of the public diet altogether, that many other factors contribute to obesity, as well.
There is concern that a soda tax will lead to underground sales of the product, but the authors argue that a soda tax would be “highly effective” in reducing the billions in annual health costs associated with obesity.
