Do You Support a Soda Tax?

UPDATE - February 22, 2019:

• The governor of Connecticut is proposing a statewide tax on sugar-sweetened drinks just as new evidence is being released that sugar-taxes do indeed work—but maybe not as well as hoped.

• "It's a pretty high bar for public health to be able to say that something is causing a major epidemic. We can do that for sugar-sweetened beverages," says Kris Madsen, an associate professor of public health at the University of California, Berkeley, who studies soda taxes.
• Berkeley was the first U.S. city to impose such a tax, and research by Madsen found a 52 percent decline in soda consumption over the first three years since the tax went into effect. Philadelphia, which also implemented a sugar tax, saw sales of soda drop by 46 percent.
• But Anna Tuchman, who's studying the Philadelphia tax at Northwestern, said there's a catch.

"We find a very large increase in sales of soda and other taxed products at stores that are located zero to four miles outside the city," Tuchman says.

• Meaning: Philadelphians are driving to stores outside of city limits to buy their sugary drinks and avoid the tax.
• Advocates of a soda tax suggest passing a tax that covers an entire state—or a national sugar tax.

UPDATE - April 16, 2018:

• A new study has found that Philadelphia residents were less likely to drink sugary beverages following the city's January 2017 introduction of a $0.015/ounce on sugar and sugar-substitute soda.

• The study from Drexel University also revealed that Philly residents were 58 more likely to drink bottled water each day.

Countable's original story appears below.

Can Sugar Taxes Solve the Obesity Epidemic?

What’s the story?

• Recently, the U.K. enacted a "sugar tax" on soft drinks in the hopes that the levy will reduce sugar intake.
• The U.S. does not have a national soda tax, though cities like Philadelphia and Berkeley have passed their own taxes on sugary drinks.
• A 2016 study out of Berkeley found that after the city passed the nation’s first major soda tax in 2014, self-reported consumption of sugary drinks fell by 21 percent in Berkeley neighborhoods, but rose by 4 percent in other two cities. Berkeley residents also reported drinking more water.
• According to the CDC, more than one-third (36.5%) of U.S. adults have obesity.
• Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and certain types of cancer—"some of the leading causes of preventable death."

Should the U.S. impose a national sugar tax?

Given the number of Americans who suffer from obesity and diabetes, is time for the U.S. to consider a nationwide sugar tax? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com / weiXx)