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Does the Soda Tax Work? - US News
Soda consumption is blamed as being a cause of heart disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer in adults, and it's easy to see why, Government guidelines encourage Americans to limit their sugar consumption to no more than 10 percent of their total daily calories, and it's tough to do that while drinking soda. In fact, beverages account for 47 percent of all the added sugar consumed in the U.S., with soda being the largest source of added sugar, according to the 2015 to 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Even though soda consumption in America is at a 30-year low (down 15 percent from 422 calories per day in 1999), most of us are still consuming too much.
In an effort to curb sugar consumption, then, many state governments have put a tax on soda. Is it working?
According to "food futurist" Jack Bobo, new data out of Philadelphia show that soda sales decreased six months after the city implemented a soda tax. But, he adds, sales "increased to nearly the same extent just outside of the city limit.” Bobo also says that data from Berkeley, California, reveal that self-reported sugar-sweetened beverage intake did not change significantly after one year of a tax.
Soda consumption is blamed as being a cause of heart disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer in adults, and it's easy to see why, Government guidelines encourage Americans to limit their sugar consumption to no more than 10 percent of their total daily calories, and it's tough to do that while drinking soda. In fact, beverages account for 47 percent of all the added sugar consumed in the U.S., with soda being the largest source of added sugar, according to the 2015 to 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Even though soda consumption in America is at a 30-year low (down 15 percent from 422 calories per day in 1999), most of us are still consuming too much.
In an effort to curb sugar consumption, then, many state governments have put a tax on soda. Is it working?
According to "food futurist" Jack Bobo, new data out of Philadelphia show that soda sales decreased six months after the city implemented a soda tax. But, he adds, sales "increased to nearly the same extent just outside of the city limit.” Bobo also says that data from Berkeley, California, reveal that self-reported sugar-sweetened beverage intake did not change significantly after one year of a tax.