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IPFS News Link • TAXES: State

San Francisco passes soda tax; other cities may soon join

• http://www.naturalnews.com

(NaturalNews) Towns and cities across California are launching new measures to help curb soda consumption – with the goal of stopping the growing obesity and diabetes epidemics in their tracks.

Following election day, it was revealed that voters in San Francisco, California, voted to pass a new tax on soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages. A neighboring town in the San Francisco Bay Area, Albany, also passed similar legislation, as did the Californian city of Oakland.

In San Francisco, the soda tax – known as Proposition V – reportedly won with a clear majority. Nearing the end of election day, Oakland and Albany reported similar statistics; almost two-thirds of voters were supporting the ballot measures. Berkeley, another city that adorns California's Bay Area, was the first in the nation to pass soda tax legislation in 2014. Since then, other cities have begun to follow suit.

The taxes are not really that surprising; just about one month before these measures found themselves on the ballots, the World Health Organization recommended that governments begin introducing such types of legislation. The WHO believes that these efforts will help reduce obesity, diabetes and other diet-related health conditions.

John Maa, a doctor and the secretary of the San Francisco Medical Society, said that he strongly supports soda taxes, and was pleased that the measure even made it to the ballot. Maa commented, "Not only does it signify the movement is gathering energy, but it also raises awareness. As we've seen in Berkeley, every time these efforts win, it leads to a reduction in soda consumption and, most importantly, it makes the general public aware of the health hazards of sugar-sweetened beverages."

In spite of the praise and support of many, the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages is not without its detractors. The American Beverage Association – which represents some of the biggest names in the beverage industry – has spent millions of dollars to defeat soda taxation measures. By election day, the organization's spending had surpassed $20 million in San Francisco alone.
 


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