Soda Tax Debate
It’s sad that we can’t do what’s best for our own health, but that’s sadly what it has come to. Therefore, the government needs to impose a soda tax. The soda tax debate has garnered big headlines in newspapers. It 's only fitting that the attention surrounding America 's obesity epidemic might come to rest on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs.) The nation 's penchant for soft drinks is on the rise; we now drink on average 50 gallons per person per year, about double the amount we drank in 1977. (The Soda Tax: Potential Weapon In America 's War Against Obsesity) Last year, in the New England Journal of Medicine, the directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Yale University 's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity
wrote that a penny-per-ounce tax on soda could be expected to reduce consumption 13%, eliminating about 8,000 calories annually from the typical American 's diet. That translates to 2.3 fewer pounds a year. (Kiviat) A report in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) argues that the government should levy an excise tax on sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Studies have established a clear link between soft drink consumption and the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. (Sundaram) From a health standpoint, the government needs to impose a “soda tax” to hopefully encourage people to reduce their consumption of soda.
Work Cited
Kiviat, Barbara. "Tax and Sip." Time 176.2 (2010): 51-52. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2013
Sundaram, Kavin. "Excise Tax for Soda." Penn Bioethics Journal 6.1 (2010): 4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.
"The Soda Tax: Potential Weapon In America 's War Against Obesity." Environmental Nutrition 33.6 (2010): 3. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 23 Apr. 2013
wrote that a penny-per-ounce tax on soda could be expected to reduce consumption 13%, eliminating about 8,000 calories annually from the typical American 's diet. That translates to 2.3 fewer pounds a year. (Kiviat) A report in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) argues that the government should levy an excise tax on sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Studies have established a clear link between soft drink consumption and the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. (Sundaram) From a health standpoint, the government needs to impose a “soda tax” to hopefully encourage people to reduce their consumption of soda.
Work Cited
Kiviat, Barbara. "Tax and Sip." Time 176.2 (2010): 51-52. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2013
Sundaram, Kavin. "Excise Tax for Soda." Penn Bioethics Journal 6.1 (2010): 4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2013.
"The Soda Tax: Potential Weapon In America 's War Against Obesity." Environmental Nutrition 33.6 (2010): 3. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 23 Apr. 2013