Big Soda Is The Next Big Tobacco?
Critics say that the soda industry behaves much like the tobacco industry yesterday: the marketing of soft drinks for children, claiming the products are safe, or at least harmless, and lobbying heavily to prevent change.
Counterclaim main industry is that there are major differences between cigarettes and the products they sell. They argue that moderate amounts of soda is neither harmful nor addictive.
However, "average" American drinks about 50 liters of soda a year. This is hardly moderate by any measure. When you consider that the averages are obtained by combining the high rate and low consumption. This means that, fundamentally, that half the people who drink soda drink less than 50 gallons per year. This which means that heavy drinkers of soda drink probably more than 50 gallons per year.
This rate of consumption of soda is far from being moderate. More and more studies support the idea that drinking soda plays an important role in the levels of the explosion of childhood obesity, and what was once called "adult" diabetes in children.
The taxes on soda was a option considered to help pay for the reform of health care. The Joint Committee on Taxation projected that a tax of 3 percent on every soda Sweet 12-oz generate revenues of 51.6 billion dollars over ten years. President Obama said that such a tax is "an idea that we should be explore. There is no doubt that our children drink way too much soda.
Unsurprisingly, the beverage industry considers taxing soda, even modestly, to be a bad idea. Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association, acknowledges that obesity is a problem, but said: "If you're trying to manage people being overweight, you need a variety of behavioral changes to achieve balance Energy - it can be done by eliminating one food from the diet.
Yach offers no data to support his claim that people who stopped drinking soda would just eat other, the empty calories also replace sugar in their soda.
In fact, more and more supporters of public health support the idea of a tax on soda, similar to those levied on tobacco, petrol and alcoholic beverages. Proponents of a tax soda noted that soft drinks are the No. 1 source of calories in the American diet, 7 percent of the average daily caloric intake, and up to 10 per cent for children and adolescents, according to government surveys. These calories say they are worse than useless - they are empty calories that are increasing daily intake is already too high.
Some states already have taxes on small up on soda. Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia, and Chicago imposed a tax of 3 percent on retail soda. 12 states have proposed additional taxes on soda in 2009, but none has been approved. Mulling Mississippi is a law that would manufacturers use tax syrup to sweeten soda, the mayor of Philadelphia is considering a tax on soda and other sugar drinks sweet, While New York Governor David Paterson has expressed its willingness to offer a penny-per-ounce tax on beverages sweetened its budget in 2011. Below is a public service announcement soda massive awareness campaign by the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The public health strategy is clearly modeled on the public fight to reduce smoking. Dr. Frieden promote tax soda when he served as commissioner health. He sees a number of similarities between fights useful to reduce consumption of soda with those aimed at reducing tobacco consumption: "It Some aspects of the food industry are reminiscent of tobacco - sowing doubt where there is no reasonable doubt, the funding of groups Crane, use so-called experts, claims that new products that are safer for consumers are available, and the assertion that they do not market to children. "
The public war to reduce tobacco consumption has been largely successful. The smoking rate in America has been reduced by half, half of smokers have quit smoking and tobacco money pays for Strong public campaigns against smoking and tobacco.
In the case of tobacco, even faced with evidence more overwhelming health risks of tobacco, tobacco companies have tried to question the science. Thus, faced with evidence of increasingly harsh linking soda consumption to childhood obesity, the companies contend the large soda that science does not back the assertion that childhood obesity is even partly caused by the consumption of soda. They tried to make the discussion on personal choice and freedom.
Critics also soda Big lobbying effort to minimize the link between soda, obesity and other diseases. They note that just as the tobacco industry, the soda industry hires people like J. Justin Wilson, a self-proclaimed "defender Consumer libertarian "and senior research analyst at the industry-sponsored Center for Consumer Freedom." Wilson said of course things like "Soda calories and food calories makes people gain weight when eaten in excess. But there is no single link between soda and obesity. "
Moreover, Ms. Neely said, the industry takes action: "The industry beverages supports real solutions to obesity continues to grow and to do its part. We've removed a lot of calories in soft drinks schools across the country and to support the initiative of Mrs. Obama will put the full calories for our products in front of our containers.
The problem, according to Dr. Frieden, is that "obesity is a major health problem that is becoming worse, and it is clear that individuals urging them to eat less and exercise more is not going to reverse the situation. "
Perhaps, like tobacco, the time is came soda tax in the interest of public health.
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