Speaking at a public health law conference in Atlanta conducted by CDC, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) on Wednesday encouraged cities and the federal government to model programs after his initiatives to encourage healthier behaviors, the New York Times reports. Bloomberg has passed into law higher cigarette taxes, strict prohibitions on smoking in restaurants and bars, better nutrition and exercise programs for children in day care centers, and a registry for people with diabetes. Bloomberg said a pilot program that targets diabetes patients and their doctors when blood-sugar levels are high soon will begin in the Bronx. Bloomberg said, "New threats result from, and are aggravated by, our forbearance, and even social and economic encouragement, of such behavior as tobacco addiction, unhealthy nutrition and excessively sedentary lifestyles." He added, "An effective public health strategy must therefore alter that calculus by changing how we live" (Cardwell, New York Times, 6/15).