ACSH staffers received an e-mail yesterday with an official statement from New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley, in which he resumed banging his drum to tout Gov. David Paterson’s proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, describing it as “yet another chance to address New York State’s fiscal crisis, and its obesity epidemic.” The proposal has been revised to exempt bottled water, low-calorie beverages, and diet soda.
“It’s unbelievable that Dr. Farley addresses the need to take care of the deficit first, which indeed is what this is all about,” says ACSH’s Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. “The city’s Health Department didn’t even try to make public health its top priority.”
Having had a position in the mayor's office that required him to serve as a liaison to the NYC Health Department, ACSH’s Jeff Stier sarcastically adds, “I never knew that part of its mission was to raise revenue for the city. But at least Dr. Farley was being honest.”
ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross adds, "I thought this trial balloon had been deflated several times since it first reared its head last year. How much public outrage will it take to finally put this to rest, I wonder?"
