Katy Steinmetz, “Soda Wars Bubble Up Across the Country,” Time, Feb. 20, 2014
“Soda and other sugary drinks are popping up on city and state dockets across the nation, as lawmakers attempt to curb America’s consumption of certain beverages,” writes Time reporter Katy Steinmetz in this February 20, 2014, article summarizing recent campaigns to limit sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and energy drinks while raising revenue for government-backed health initiatives. In addition to San Francisco’s efforts to impose a SSB tax, Steinmetz notes similar proposals under consideration in Illinois and Berkeley, California, as well as attempts by Maryland and Los Angeles legislators to impose age restrictions on energy drink purchases.
According to the article, San Francisco’s latest measure has garnered broad
support from the city’s board of supervisors, “effectively guaranteeing that
it will be on the ballot,” where it will need to gain approval from two-thirds
of voters. But opponents of SSB taxation and the age restrictions on energy
drinks have claimed that such measures promote government overreach,
unfairly single out a certain class of products, constrain consumer choice, and
cause job losses among beverage manufacturing and other industries.
“A big question is whether proposals like San Francisco’s, which would levy a
two-cent-per-ounce tax on distributors, will succeed and become an example
for other cities to follow or whether—as the beverage industry claims—that
proposal is part of a dying breed,” concludes Steinmetz, who points to
conflicting poll results measuring consumer support for these initiatives.
“The Golden State looks poised to be a battleground over sugar this year. In
2012, two sugary-beverage taxes on the ballot in the cities of El Monte and
Richmond failed by wide margins. A related state bill died in committee. San
Francisco has a proud reputation of making progressive sacrifices—being
the first in the nation to ban plastic bags, for example—that may help yield a
different result for public health advocates.”
Issue 514
