Soda Tax Essay
1268 Words
6 Pages
The Dangers of Soda Taxation and its Impact on Society According to the CDC, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases related to the condition, is the leading cause of death for Americans. Public health officials have tried, and largely failed, to combat this epidemic. These efforts have for the most part included campaigns to increase the awareness of the importance of healthy living with wholesome diet and exercise. Further, the government has instituted subsidies to assist with the crisis. A statistic from National Center for Weight & Wellness at George Washington University estimates that $305.1 billion a year is spent on costs associated with obesity. (Ehley & Planin 2014) A new way of combating obesity is to institute a tax on sugar sweetened
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If this tax is instituted on a mass scale, profits for soda companies will decrease due to a decrease in demand. If the tax is large enough, the soda companies will need to lay off workers and halt programs funded by the companies. The larger soda companies make great contributions to the world, including the fitness programs, educational grants and funding, and provide assistance to the people of impoverished countries. (Northrup 2015) The institution of a tax large enough to have any real effect on the problem of obesity would prevent the companies from doing the charitable works they are so accustomed to doing. While their intentions may not be as altruistic as they appear to be to the average consumer, soda companies make very real contributions to reduction of the epidemic and the world community. The three major soda companies, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper, are taking initiatives, under the auspices of the Clinton Global Initiative, to reduce the amount of calories in their sodas by as much as a fifth. The companies have already differentiated their products to include modifications to soda to reduce calorie content, smaller portions, and the use of real sugar to make the beverages healthier. All of this work is done to the benefit of both the consumer and soda companies without government intervention. (Strom 2014) There is such a small chance that obesity rates will decline with the institution of the tax that the costs to the people and the economy are too steep to balance the benefits and burdens of the
If this tax is instituted on a mass scale, profits for soda companies will decrease due to a decrease in demand. If the tax is large enough, the soda companies will need to lay off workers and halt programs funded by the companies. The larger soda companies make great contributions to the world, including the fitness programs, educational grants and funding, and provide assistance to the people of impoverished countries. (Northrup 2015) The institution of a tax large enough to have any real effect on the problem of obesity would prevent the companies from doing the charitable works they are so accustomed to doing. While their intentions may not be as altruistic as they appear to be to the average consumer, soda companies make very real contributions to reduction of the epidemic and the world community. The three major soda companies, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper, are taking initiatives, under the auspices of the Clinton Global Initiative, to reduce the amount of calories in their sodas by as much as a fifth. The companies have already differentiated their products to include modifications to soda to reduce calorie content, smaller portions, and the use of real sugar to make the beverages healthier. All of this work is done to the benefit of both the consumer and soda companies without government intervention. (Strom 2014) There is such a small chance that obesity rates will decline with the institution of the tax that the costs to the people and the economy are too steep to balance the benefits and burdens of the