RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Yet another report is out today advocating a sugar tax to help curb the obesity, heart disease, and diabetes epidemics in the United States. The idea has been kicked around for some time now, and although a recent plan to significantly tax sugar-sweetened beverages in New York fell through, the idea of a soda tax does appear to appeal to some pretty powerful people, including President Barack Obama. In an interview with Men's Health magazine at the end of July, this is what he had to say: "I actually think it's an idea that we should be exploring. There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda." You can read more of the interview on Menshealth.com.
THE DETAILS: The latest health policy report on taxing sugar-sweetened drinks appears online today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The report's authors cite numerous studies (not funded by the beverage industry) showing an association between sugar-sweetened beverages and health problems. For instance, a look at more than 91,000 women tracked for eight years in the Nurses' Health Study II shows those who drank one or more sugary drinks a day nearly doubled their risk of developing diabetes, when compared to those drinking one or fewer sugar-sweetened beverages per month.
Sugar-sweetened beverages are drinks that contain added, naturally derived caloric sweeteners such as sucrose (known as table sugar), high-fructose corn syrup, or fruit-juice concentrates. All have similar metabolic effects that seem to be contributing to the skyrocketing overweight and obesity rates in the country, which strain the healthcare system. Medical costs associated with overweight and obesity are near $150 billion a year, nearly 10 percent of total U.S. healthcare expenditures. Half of these are paid through the government's Medicare and Medicaid programs.
The researchers in today's report recommend a penny-per-ounce excise tax on drinks containing added sugars or other calorie-boosting sweeteners. They say for every 10-percent increase in price, consumption will drop 8 percent. They also theorize that a national tax of one cent per ounce on sugar-sweetened beverages would generate nearly $15 billion in the first year alone, which could be directed toward childhood-nutrition programs, obesity-prevention programs, or health care for the uninsured. And if lowered consumption leads to lower rates of obesity, a drop in the nation's healthcare costs may also result.
WHAT IT MEANS: This is the latest in a wave of reports recommending the government—be it state or federal—significantly tax sugar-sweetened beverages. But the beverage industry is not taking the threat lightly, and has reportedly pumped $2 billion into its Americans Against Food Taxes campaign, which largely consists of grocery- and beverage- and packaging-industry members. However, polls have shown the majority of the public supports a beverage tax, as long as the revenue is used to support programs for the prevention of obesity in children and adults.
Rodale.com asked report coauthor Barry Popkin, PhD, professor of nutrition and economics at the University of North Carolina, and director of the North Carolina Interdisciplinary Obesity Center, to answer some of our sugar-tax questions:
Q: Why should we tax sugar-sweetened beverages when taxpayers are also subsidizing corn and other ingredients used in junk food and soda?
A: First, a small proportion of current sweeteners used in beverages now are from corn. Second, the corn subsidy is trivial, as the cost of sugar in beverages is really less than 1 percent of the total costs.
Q: Instead of a sugar tax, why aren’t we subsidizing healthy food?
A: Because sugar-sweetened beverages are a major cause of obesity—we are what we drink. When we drink sugar-sweetened beverages, we do not cut calories from food. When you eat junk food, not beverages, you reduce other food intake.
Q: Is there any indication a sugar tax will be a part of the new healthcare reform?
A: We would love that. It has been floated around by both the House and Senate.
Q: In which state(s) are we most likely to see a sugar tax high enough to change consumer behavior?
A: In a year, Massachusetts or California. Maybe Maine.
Q: What should be done with diet sodas, because some studies have shown they may lead to overeating and diabetes, too?
A: We prepared and published a major review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and did not find that the evidence [of contributing to obesity] holds up for diet beverages. There is a subset of Big Mac-plus-diet-soft-drink folks, but there is a large set of diet soda [drinkers] who eat healthy.