By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — More than half of New York City voters oppose Albany's so-called "fat tax" on soda and sugary beverages, a new poll says.
The tax was even more distasteful to upstate voters, who opposed the proposed statewide tax 66 to 31 percent, a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday said. Of city voters, 55 percent said they opposed an “obesity tax or a fat tax on non-diet sugary soft drinks,” while 41 percent were in favor.
But, voters reversed their answers when asked if they would support the tax if the money were to be used to fund health care. Nearly six in ten voters said they would then support the tax; four in ten would still be opposed, the poll showed.
“New Yorkers to Albany: Can the soda tax,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in a statement. “We might crack the can if the money goes for health care.”
New Yorkers also would support a ban on sodas and junk food in city schools with more than 60 percent in favor of both measures, according to the poll.
When it came to whether the government should take action to fight childhood obesity, New Yorkers were more closely divided. More than half of those polled felt the government should take steps to combat obesity, while more than 40 percent considered such actions "meddling," the poll showed.
