U.S. experts argue for tax on sweet drinks

A penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks could help fight obesity by cutting consumption and raising billions of dollars to help state and local governments pay for programs, two experts said on Wednesday. Taxes have been shown to reduce smoking and are just as likely to help adults and children choose healthier drinks, which are now usually more expensive than sodas and other sweetened beverages, the experts wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.

A tax of one penny per fluid ounce (30 ml) on drinks such as soda, sports drinks and sugar-sweetened fruit juice and iced tea could "reduce consumption of sugared beverages by more than 10 percent," Kelly Brownell of Yale University in Connecticut and New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden wrote. "It is difficult to imagine producing behavior change of this magnitude through education alone, even if government devoted massive resources to the task." Studies show that children and adolescents now consume 10 percent to 15 percent of all their calories in beverages. The soft drink industry also opposes such a tax.

"The contribution of unhealthful diets to healthcare costs is already high and is increasing -- an estimated $79 billion is spent annually for overweight and obesity alone -- and approximately half of these costs are paid by Medicare and Medicaid, at taxpayers' expense," they wrote. "Sugar-sweetened beverages may be the single largest driver of the obesity epidemic," the researchers added. "For each extra can or glass of sugared beverage consumed per day, the likelihood of a child's becoming obese increases by 60 percent."

Bonnie - I would venture to say that this would be a contentious issue among the American public? How would you feel about this? Make a comment below.