High Soda Taxes Could Stem Obesity, Study Claims

Small sales taxes on soft drinks are insufficient to reduce consumption of soda or curb obesity among children, according to a new a new study in Health Affairs. Such small taxes may reduce consumption in some subgroups, such as children at greater risk for obesity. But to reduce overall soda consumption, the taxes would have to be downright draconian, structured as excise taxes that would increase the shelf price of the product rather than sales taxes collected at the cash register. An 18 percent soda tax proposed and then dropped from New York's Executive Budget last year, for example, could help prevent excessive weight gain between third and fifth grades by 20 percent, the authors say. read more

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