Amidst late-night cram sessions and witless weekday partying, college students across the nation often depend on sugary sodas and energy drinks to get through the week.
We are well aware of the adverse effects such beverages could have on our health, but continue to down can after can as a cheap alternative to a good night’s sleep.
It is a problem for high school and college students, as well as for millions of overweight Americans nationwide. However, a solution may soon be on the horizon.
According to a group of prominent health experts, as published in the Sept. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a federal tax of 1 cent per fluid ounce of soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks would lower soda consumption rates and help aid in America’s obesity epidemic, all while generating an estimated $14.9 billion to finance health reform.
The United States spends roughly $147 billion on medical costs associated with weight problems and obesity, the article states, which is equivalent to 9 percent of all health care expenditures.
“It’s an idea that we should be exploring,” said President Barack Obama in an interview with Men’s Health magazine. “There’s no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that’s been done about obesity shows that there is as high a correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else.”
David Leonhart of The New York Times illustrates one possible reason for America’s growing soft drink obsession using census data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“The cost of many unhealthy foods, like soda, butter and beer, has fallen in the last three decades, while the cost of fruits and vegetables has risen substantially,” Leonhart said.
The research group’s proposed solution is therefore relatively simple: as prices go up, consumption of unhealthy beverages declines. But many skeptics doubt that the tax would significantly change consumer behavior.
This is a valid concern, considering 33 states already charge sales tax on soft drinks to little or no effect. But, according to USA Today, “Generally they are fairly small, with the average soda tax rate being 5.2 percent. On a 12-ounce can of soda that costs $1, that translates to about 5 cents.”
The latest proposal of a one-cent-per-fluid-ounce sales tax would translate into an additional cost of 12 cents per typical can of soda or 67 cents per 2-liter bottle, more than double the 5.2 percent average.
As could be expected, the beverage industry has been less than cheery in response to the proposed tax, including Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola.
“I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and drink,” Kent said, according to a Bloomberg news report. “If it worked, the Soviet Union would still be around.”
However, therein lies the beauty of the proposal: The more sodas Americans consume, the more federal revenue is made available for health reform. Likewise, if the researchers’ estimated 10 percent decrease in consumption were proven accurate, this would lead to an average caloric intake reduction of at least 20 calories per day per person, a significant step toward a thinner tomorrow.
It’s a win-win … for everyone except cola manufacturers, at least.
Hal is an accounting major and a recovering sugar addict. Send him your artificially sweetened thoughts at hscohen@asu.edu.
