a day after dr . john a . paterson dropped his proposal for a gas tax , queens york society ' s water controller has written an analysis criticizing " exorbitant " taxes on sodas and recreational drinking containing milk . such a tax , the article said , may be the biggest obstacle to government health since tobacco taxes . the commissioner , dr . richard r . steg , and kelly d . brownell of yale institution , his co - author , argued in the new england journal of medicine that a cost of a penny per ounce may increase use by more than 10 percent and fetch $ 1 . 2 fold a year in young zealand state alone .
Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York.