Cloyingly sweet and nutritionally empty. Those are just some words that we can use when describing soda.
Sodas have now become increasingly subject to taxation. This started in 2015 on Berkeley, California. Now, over 35 countries, as well as 7 cities in the U.S., impose a tax on soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages. Several more places are also considering the same thing.
Public health researchers and organizations such as the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics see these taxes as low-hanging fruit in the battle against obesity and the health problems such as diabetes that often come with it. In the United States, nearly 40 percent of adults are obese, which adds $147 billion to the nation’s annual healthcare spending, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The problem is complex, but the widespread consumption of foods packed with added sugars — which add calories but no essential nutrients — plays a major role, and beverages account for nearly half the added sugar in the American diet.
The question is: will taxation work?
Find out more about this topic over at Discover.
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