Berkeley sees a big drop in soda consumption after penny-per-ounce ‘soda tax’ Can Americans tax themselves out of their obesity crisis? A new analysis of Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation “soda tax” offers encouraging results about its power to change people’s dietary habits. Five months after the city implemented its penny-per-ounce tax on all manner of sugar-sweetened beverages, lower-income residents had reduced their consumption by 21%, compared to the pre-tax days. Meanwhile, their counterparts in neighboring Oakland and San Francisco increased the amount of sugary drinks consumed by 4% during the same period, according to a study published Tuesday in the American Journal of Public Health. Instead of swilling as much Coke, Gatorade, Red Bull and Hawaiian Punch, the Berkeley residents boosted their water consumption by 63%. In the neighboring cities, low-income residents drank only 19% more water during the study period. The results provide strong evidence that the sin taxes that helped steer consumers away from alcohol and tobacco products can also work on sugary drinks such as soda, said Dr. Kristine Madsen, a public health researcher at UC Berkeley and senior author of the study. Yes some residents are now buying their soda drinks in other cities but this is quite interesting as so many people said tax would not alter consumer behavior. No-one likes taxes, but it does look like it could have a beneficial effect on health. Those that are really going to smoke and drink soda, are still going to (it is their choice), but a saving of 20% of the healthcare costs for government, and some additional tax revenue to treat the remainder, certainly does help a bit for general taxpayers who do not have to carry the full tax burden. That said, of course we sit with the same debate around road tolls here is South Africa, where most do not want to "pay as you use the road" in the form of a toll, and would… http://bit.ly/2chkR1A
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