Taxing Soda: Fairness Instead of Obesity and Paralysis March 26, 2014 Advocacy, Guest Blog, Public Health, San Francisco Medicine, SFMS Member Lawrence Cheung, sugar-sweetened beverages, soda tax 0 By Lawrence Cheung, MD, SFMS President On the November election ballot there will be a proposal for a new tax on sugar sweetened beverages (SSB). I am personally in support of this tax, and I hope that you will be too. Specifically, this will be a tax of $0.02/oz on any sugar-sweetened beverages that contain more than 25 calories per 12 ounces. Milk, 100% natural juices, infant formulas, and diet drinks will be exempt from this tax. This tax is expected to generate approximately $30 million in revenue per year, and the proposed legislation has earmarked the funds to go directly back to health promotion. Specifically, 40% to the SF Unified School District for nutrition education, healthy food access, and expansion and improvement of physical education 25% to the Department of Public Health and Public Utilities commission for healthy food access initiatives, drinking fountains and water bottle filling stations, oral health services, chronic disease prevention, and public education campaigns 25% to the Recreation and Park Department for recreation centers, organized sports, athletic programming, and grants to community-based organizations 10% for grants to community-based organizations that support physical activity, food access, public outreach, and health programs. The funds will be used for new or expanded programs and will not replace current funding. Most important, the funds will be prioritized to neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by diseases related to the consumption of SSB. The evidence that demonstrates the correlation between SSB consumption and increase in rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease is overwhelming. Not surprisingly, a tax can serve as a deterrent to unhealthy behaviors; research has shown that even a $0.01 tax would lead to a minimum 10 percent reduction in calorie consumption—a reduction sufficient for weight loss and lessened risk.1 But more importantly, San Francisco will be generating additional tax revenue that will help fund efforts that will directly improve the health of our city, offsetting the cost that consumption of SSBs have on its health. What is surprising is the health-related cost of SSBs locally. According to a policy analysis report from the San Francisco Budget and Legislative Analyst Office, estimated direct health care costs to San Francisco attributed to SSBs is at $28 million.2 The $30 million in revenue generated by the tax will help offset this cost. SFMS Immediate Past President Dr. Shannon Udovic-Constant and our own staffer Steve Heilig drafted a resolution in 2011 to support anti-obesity/anti-soda drink campaigns and this was passed by the California Medical Association (CMA) House of Delegates, making it official CMA policy. As a forward- thinking city, San Francisco is poised to make history in establishing a tax on SSBs. As of this writing, twelve cities have attempted to establish such a tax, but their proposals have either been defeated/stopped by legal action or significantly watered down. As the local papers have reported, this promises to be a “sour fight.” The sugar industry has already formed opposition groups to fight our proposal, and, as they did in Richmond two years back, will spend massive amounts of money to defeat it. I am sick of seeing children developing type II diabetes. I am sick of seeing steatophatitis in my adolescent population caused by morbid obesity. If successful, San Francisco will be the first city to adopt this tax. Let’s make history, and let’s do it for our patients and our community. Brownell et al. The public health and economic benefits of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages. NEJM. September 17, 2009. Updated Study of the Health and Financial Impacts Caused by High Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages. Policy Analysis Report of the City and County of San Francisco Board of Supervisors Budget and Legislative Analyst. December 12, 2013. The San Francisco Medical Society and the California Medical Association supports the idea of taxing sugar sweetened beverages. Policy 721a-09 adopted on 10/19/2009 CMA House of Delegates states: Resolved #1: That physicians should educate their patients about the health risks associated with the consumption of food and beverages containing high amounts of processed simple sugars or refined sugars such as high fructose corn syrup; and be it further Resolved #2: That CMA support increased taxes on sodas and other relevant sugar sweetened beverages, with the revenues to be utilized for public health education efforts such as those conducted by the CMA Foundation and for other health purposes; and be it further Resolved #3: That CMA encourage public health education campaigns on obesity prevention and treatment. Comments are closed.
