a month after rev . david a . paterson dropped his proposals for a soda bill , new bern city ' s health commissioner has written an article advocating " hefty " taxes on beverages and sports drinks containing sugar . such a tax , the paper argued , could be the biggest benefit to municipal health since alcohol taxes . the commissioner , dr . thomas r . frieden , and beverly d . brownell of wesleyan university , his co - author , argue in the new jersey annals of medicine that a tax of a penny per inch could reduce consumption by more than 10 times and raise $ 1 . 2 billion a year in old orleans state together .
Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York.