New York, NY —

One of the fees and taxes the governor proposed yesterday would make New Yorkers’ Pepsi, Coke or Snapple more expensive. As WNYC’s Fred Mogul reports, the so-called “obesity tax” could add some sugar to the state’s coffers, but might not subtract calories from peoples' diets.

REPORTER: Health officials say the proposed 18 percent tax on non-diet soft drinks could reduce obesity by 5 percent. They also say the measure could generate a half-billion dollars for health programs. But a study in the American Journal of Public Health looked at these taxes on soda, candy and other snack foods in 18 states and the District of Columbia. It concluded there was no way to measure the effects on waistlines. The study speculated that steep surtaxes might decrease consumption noticeably, but all the areas had relatively modest fees in place.

Still, the money added up to about a billion dollars a year total in the 19 jurisdictions. Almost all of them simply put the money into general funds, but a handful targeted the money for health department programs, something the study authors suggested might ultimately have a greater effect on reducing obesity. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.