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Editorial: Soda tax not correct method of alleviating obesity in U.S.

Nov. 10, 2009

Claire Taylor | Lariat Staff

The taxing of sugary drinks is becoming a viable option to enforce healthier living in many states and even on the floor of Congress. Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter proposed a sales tax on soda and a 4.6 percent cut in education in order to counteract Colorado's ailing economy, which is facing a $1 billion deficit.

In the original health care reform bill that never made it through the House of Representatives, a soda tax was implemented. Last December, and again this October, Gov. David Paterson of New York proposed a push for a tax on sugary drinks, too.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the revenue generated from charging one extra cent per an ounce of soda would amount to $14.9 billion and could be used to start childhood nutrition programs and obesity-prevention programs.

Sugary drinks account for 10 percent to 15 percent of the calories consumed by children and adolescents, according to an April 2009 report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The journal also reported that a study showed that children who had 9 ounces or more of sugar-sweetened beverages per day consumed nearly 200 kcal per day more than those who did not drink sugar-sweetened beverages.

There is an innate problem in taxing soda for the sole benefit of bringing in revenue. Though most proponents of a "soda tax" argue that this medical data proves the necessity of a tax, it is not the job of the U.S. government to attempt to improve healthy living among constituents by capitalizing on bad habits.

The same report by the New England Journal of Medicine stated that the intake of sugary drinks could also affect humans' behavioral mechanisms. According to the report, many people, rather than eating solid foods when experiencing hunger, consume sugary drinks. This can have adverse effects on the food preference and taste of chronic sugar-sweetened beverage drinkers because those who consume sugary drinks often may find foods such as vegetables and fruits 'unappealing.'

With that, sweeping legislation that pinpoints America's soda drinkers will not dramatically alter eating habits. Instead, it will only force those who have developed poor habits into paying more.

In a Jan. 7 response to Paterson's soda tax proposal, Susan Neely, president and CEO of the American Beverage Association said: "The proposed sales tax on beverages to fight obesity is simply a facade for raising taxes. It's a pure money grab from hardworking families who have no more money left to give. Singling out one particular product for taxation won't even make a dent in a problem as complex as obesity."

Gov. Paterson's true motivation to implement a soda tax is not centered on helping Americans' weight but rather the state of New York's purse. "I will put [the fat tax] back in my budget address and give the Legislature another chance to do it," Paterson said to the New York Daily News. "You can't keep voting down the ways to create revenues and then saying you don't want to make cuts."

The attempt to tax sodas is founded on greed. It seems to be a movement that is under the guise of aiding the problem of obesity when in reality it will hurt the American people.

The way to aid Americans' fight in shedding pounds is not to heavily tax the foods they are hurting themselves with. Public officials should be concentrating on developing legitimate programs that can truly help waist sizes go down rather than conducting research that proved the link between Americans' soda drinking habits and weight gain for the sole purpose to promote legislation and increase revenue.

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