Earlier this month, The New England Journal of Medicine featured
an opinion piece about taxing nutritionally empty, sweetened
beverage items. The article, entitled “Ounces of Prevention –
The Public Case for Taxes on Sugared Beverages,” specifically
highlighted the proposal considered but recently dropped in New
York State. Governor Patterson of New York late last year
proposed an 18% sales tax on soda and fruit beverages containing
less than 70% juice. In Maine a wholesale tax on sodas and the
sweetening syrups used for their production had been implemented
by lawmakers but was recently overturned by voters. With these
proposals and related studies in the spotlight, public officials
and health experts have increasingly been pressing the beverage
tax possibility. Governor Patterson and many proponents across
the country call their proposals “obesity tax” programs because
recent research suggests that sweetened drinks contribute
significantly to the country’s obesity epidemic. (Yes, little
surprise…) As the NE