It’s time for some bitter with the sweet

In California, soda is the new tobacco – at least from a public policy point of view. Adopting some of the same methods that have been employed to reduce smoking, legislators have put together an ambitious package of bills aimed at curbing consumption of sodas, energy drinks and other beverages that have added sugar.

The proposals include levying a tax on sugarsweetened beverages, mandating warning labels on their bottles and restricting how they are promoted and displayed in stores. The proceeds from the tax (the amount is yet to be determined) would fund programmes to prevent obesity, diabetes and other health problems associated with the overconsumption of sugar.

We’re not yet convinced that soda ought to be demonised to the same degree as tobacco, but one of the proposed measures that could show results is definitely worth exploring: taxes on drinks with added sugar.

A three-year study of the tax on sugarsweetened beverages imposed by Berkeley in 2014 found that people in low-income neighbourhoods bought fewer sugary drinks after the tax was imposed. With so much of the food found at the grocery store packed with added sugars it makes sense to discourage consumption of the empty calories found in soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks. Effective and sensible strategies to do so are worth pursuing.