Report: Soda Tax Good For Mass. Health, Wealth

By Sacha Pfeiffer
Sep 16, 2009, 4:15 PM
3 Comments

A group of economists and public health experts, including those from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, is calling for a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to fight obesity and fund health care costs.

The group says a so-called soda tax could raise $150 billion nationwide in the next decade. Massachusetts could reap $320 million of that, and Boston alone could get almost $30 million.

David Ludwig, who runs an obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, says those numbers are based on a penny-per-ounce tax on beverages such as soda, sports drinks and sweetened fruit juices.

“A tax that’s based just on the purchase of a bottle of soft drink will tend to encourage the food industry to make larger and larger portion sizes, which, of course, takes us in exactly the wrong direction,” said Dr. Ludwig, who is also an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Ludwig said linking a tax to the amount of sugar-sweetened beverage in a bottle is most effective from a public health standpoint. Under the proposal, a two-liter bottle, for example, would cost about an extra 70 cents.

The group proposing the tax recommends that the revenue generated be used for child nutrition and obesity prevention programs, since the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages can increase a person’s risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Obesity-related medical costs are estimated at $147 billion annually nationwide.

The group’s proposal is outlined in a report (PDF) that appears online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Rima Kleiner, MS, RD

As a Registered Dietitian, I am very familiar with the rapidly growing rates of obesity in the U.S. Obesity, however, is a multi-causal issue that cannot be solved by simply implementing a “sin tax” on sodas. The total number of calories consumed by Americans has increased 28% since 1970, while calories from beverages has decreased by more than 24% over the past 11 years. Yet, obesity rates continue to climb, suggesting that it is the calories from all foods and beverages that are widening the waists of Americans. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health (and published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year) supported that all calories count—and that it is the balancing of these calories with physical activity that matters most. Since all calories count, one message is still clear—eat a well balanced diet, enjoy foods and beverages in moderation and balance these calories with adequate physical activity.
http://sharrilljoslin@yahoo.com Sharrill Joslin

We need to stop the insanity for once. People are old enoughtoknow what they are putting into their system. They thought taxing cigarettes would make people quit smoking, but it didn’t for the “die hards”of the world. What makes you think that taxing food (which seems the only thing Mass. doesn’t tax)is the ideal for making people loseweight. It seems that we pay enough in taxes to this state without going crazy. My family lies onavery modes income and can’t afford all these tax increases and don’t normally spend alot on sweetened beverages. I am, however, diabetic and most of the things I can have will be taxed so that I can’t afford the luxeryof a treat once in awhile. I think people should stop and think efore they tax us to death. Wait for the President to kill us off first.
Soda Brain

Makes a lot of sense to tax soda. People would be healthier if no soda was available!