Should We Tax Sugary Beverages?

What does it take to get people to change bad health habits? Many tactics can work: a stiff lecture from your doctor, a health scare, even shame. But in recent years, one idea that seems to be quite effective is hitting people in their wallet.

Many studies have found that higher taxes on cigarettes made smokers more likely to quit. Now, a number of states and cities are debating whether to impose similar levies on sugar-sweetened beverages, which scientists say are the single largest source of added sugar and excess calories in our diets.

That tax wouldn't have to be too high to be effective, according to a study in the January issue of the journal Health Affairs. Researchers from Columbia University and the University of California, San Francisco estimated that a penny-per-ounce tax would lead to a 15 percent decline in consumption and, more importantly, a decline in the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers, who used data from a national health survey, also estimated that over a 10-year period, the penny-per-ounce tax could lower the number of new cases of diabetes by 2.6 percent and prevent as many as 95,000 coronary heart events, 8,000 strokes and 26,000 premature deaths.

This seems like a pretty good deal to me.