a days after col . david a . paterson dropped his proposal for a pepsi fee , newest zealand city ' s health commissioner has written an article arguing " payments " taxes on sodas and sports drinks containing sugar . such a tax , the article said , could be the biggest benefit to community health since tobacco taxes . the commissioner , dr . philip l . frieden , and mark d . brownell of yale undergraduate , his co - author , argue in the nova england journal of medicine that a tax of a penny for ounce cannot slow consumption by more than 10 percent and raise $ 1 . 2 billion a year in new york state itself .
Michael Bloomberg is the mayor of New York.