Soda Tax Remains a Controversial Topic in Many Countries

In March 2015, Berkeley, California became the first city in the United States to enact a soda tax: a one-cent surcharge on every ounce of sugar-sweetened drinks sold. In the five years since, several other cities -- including San Francisco, Oakland, Boulder, Colorado, Seattle, and Philadelphia -- have passed their own beverage ballot initiatives.

Many countries, such as the United Kingdom and Mexico, have imposed soda taxes in an effort to fight rising obesity. A growing amount of research shows a link between drinking sugary substances and a host of negative health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, tooth decay and gout.

In Philadelphia, the imposed soda tax reduced the frequency of adults' soda consumption by 31 percent. However, some studies found that consumers simply traveled outside of the city to buy soda tax-free.

According to a lawsuit filed in California last month, that state's 2018 law prohibiting cities from enacting new sugary drink taxes until 2031 is illegal because it curtails local governments' ability to raise taxes for public services.

Funds for cities nationwide are in short supply amid the Coronavirus pandemic and a tax that raises pennies on the dollar for the consumption of soda may prove to be a lucrative funding source. However, these sugary drink taxes have remained controversial wherever they have surfaced, and it is unlikely that the beverage industry will give up the fight.

In general, a review of research on soda taxes published in 2019 showed them to be effective based on sales. But sales don’t necessarily reflect health outcomes -- or peoples’ total sugar intake. In Berkeley, research found that sales of sugar-sweetened beverages decreased, but self-reported consumption habits didn’t.

From Him, Through Him, For Him (Romans 11:36),

Paul J. Staso

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