Politics on the Hudson

   Dr. Richard Daines, state health commissioner, is adding his voice to those who have criticized the wording of a Quinnipiac Poll question about Gov. David Paterson’s proposed penny-an-ounce tax on sugary beverages. The poll asked if people would support the so-called “obesity tax” or “fat tax” and found that 57 percent were against it and 40 percent were for it.

   Daines, the state Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Alliance, the Greater New York Hospital Association and the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York all issued statements today that criticized the wording of that question. The CCC called the language “highly inflammatory” and said 72 percent of respondents in its poll supported the tax and 27 percent were against it after hearing more about the initiative and that the money collected to go toward health care.

   This is what Daines’ media release said:

   State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., said that the results of a Quinnipiac poll released today regarding support for a proposed tax on sugared beverages most likely would have been more positive had responders been given some basic facts about the proposal.

   “In polling, it’s all in how you ask the question,” said Commissioner Daines. “Quinnipiac simply asked New Yorkers if they support or oppose an “obesity tax” or “fat tax” on non-diet sugary soft drinks. Nowhere in the Governor’s budget is that tax mentioned and no one wants to hear about a tax called that,” he said.

   Dr. Daines noted that when Kiley & Company asked 600 likely voters between Jan. 17-20 if they would support a Sugared Soda Tax that would reduce childhood obesity and also would reduce the budget deficit, 58 percent said yes. When asked if they would support the tax “if it came down to a choice between reducing state funding for the Medicaid program or passing a new 18-percent tax on sodas and other soft drinks with sugar,” 76 percent were in favor of the tax.

   Dr. Daines said responders to the Quinnipiac poll likely would have expressed more support for the proposed tax had they been told that the tax revenue would be targeted to health care and public health programs. “If Quinnipiac had called the tax by its true name and asked: ‘Would you support a Sugared Beverage Tax that will reduce obesity, provide funding for health care and public health, and reduce health care costs,’ I think they would have given a very different response,” Dr. Daines said.

   Governor David A. Paterson’s proposed 2010-11 budget includes a penny-per-ounce excise tax on sodas and other drinks containing large amounts of sugar. The proceeds from the tax will be targeted to health care and public health programs, preventing cuts that would be required without the tax revenue.”

   Sixty percent of adults and a third of children in the State are overweight or obese. Numerous studies have identified beverages containing large amounts of added sugar as the single strongest dietary link to obesity. Health care for conditions related to obesity cost nearly $8 billion dollars a year, with a majority of the cost paid for by taxpayers through Medicare and Medicaid.

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