The North Country Gazette reported the findings of a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of registered New York voters on December 13, 2010, as governor-elect Andrew Cuomo prepared to take office. The poll showed that voters are against a soda tax to raise revenue for the state.

An article in The New York Times reveals an internal e-mail dispute involving New York City health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, and his subordinates. The debate appears to be over the claims made in the Pouring on the Pounds ad campaign, which shows “a young man sucking down fat from a can as it [...]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael McKeon
Phone: (212) 681-1380

FLUSHING, N.Y. (August 4, 2010)—New Yorkers Against Unfair Taxes, a coalition of concerned New Yorkers – individuals, families and small businesses – opposed to unfair and discriminatory taxes, today applauded the state Legislature for making the right decision to approve a budget that does not include a regressive and [...]

In an editorial to the Times Union on June 17, 2010, Pat Baird, R.D., contends that the argument that a soda tax will affect obesity rates is false. She cites the Contemporary Economic Policy in showing “that even a 30 percent tax would have little to no effect on body mass index and obesity.�

R.M. Schneiderman reported on a study showing that most New Yorkers opposed a soda tax in the Wall Street Journal blog on June 14, 2010. The Marist poll showed that 63% opposed Governor Paterson’s proposed penny-per-ounce tax, and that 40% said even if such a tax did go into effect, it would not curb their consumption.

Dr. Michael G. Kaplan takes issue with claims that a tax on sodas will impact obesity levels in the United States in this opinion piece in the Times Union on May 5, 2010. He says, “public health policy must be driven by clinical research, not flimsy science used to satisfy a political agenda.�

“Meaningful weight management requires changing the way people think about eating and exercise,� says Dr. Pam Peeke in an April 30, 2010, Times Union opinion article. A tax on soda is not an effective “girth control,� she says.

The need to make tough budget decisions shouldn’t give Albany the authority to bend science, says Dr. Michael G. Kaplan to the Buffalo News on April 26, 2010. “There is simply no authoritative health study to justify [the claim that a soda tax will reduce obesity]; on the contrary, repeated clinical studies tell us that this effort will fail,� he writes.

Rochester NBC affiliate WHEC-TV reported on Dale Vance of Hegedorn’s Supermarket in Webster, a grocer who opposes the tax on soda, on April 23, 2010. He says, “For the generic store brand pop [the tax] could double the price of a case of pop.â€�

Grocers around New York are worried about a tax on the sale of sodas, reported Matt Molloy of the Rochester Homepage on April 22, 2010. “Being in business ourselves we know that we can’t always balance our budget by raising prices. We have to find ways to be more efficient, to cut out costs,” said Dale Vance, owner of Hegedorn’s in Webster.