California considers penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks

Do you love your soda enough to pay extra tax on a can? Californians may soon have to if they want to gulp down a sweet soft drink.

California lawmakers are proposing a new 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages. The goal is that the increased cost would deter younger residents from purchasing unhealthy beverages. The taxes collected would go into a Children's Health Promotion Fund, which helps fight childhood obesity in the state.

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California senator Bill Monning, D-Carmel, proposed the bill SB-622, which would levy a tax on all "bottled sweetened beverages" that have more than 25 calories for every 12 ounces. For example, the tax would cost an additional $1.44 for a 12-pack of soft drinks. The fee would be paid by beverage distributors, but there is a possibility they could transfer costs to the consumer.

"We're witnessing the perfect storm -- a costly childhood obesity crisis driven by a 228 percent increase in soda consumption and looming budget cuts that would abandon the very programs protecting those children," Monning said in a press release. "(The bill) will address these problems. It's only fair that the sweetened beverage industry pay their fair share to address the crisis."

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 23.8 percent of Californians are obese.

Fruit and vegetable juices would only be subject to the law if the fruit or vegetable content in the beverages dropped below 50 percent. Milk products would be excluded.

The state Senate Governance and Finance committee passed the bill, meaning that it will be up for view by the Senate Health Committee.

Legislation aimed at sugary drinks has previously been taken up by health advocates elsewhere in the country.

Recently, Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to ban sugary drinks over 16-ounces in New York City. The proposal, which was met with much controversy, eventually was blocked by the New York Supreme Court. Judge Milton Tingling said that the regulation was "arbitrary and capricious" because it only applied to some food vendors and had many loopholes including excluding beverages that may have higher sugar content.

A proposal for a New York State soda tax was introduced in 2009 but failed to be implemented.

However, most people may not be in favor of a tax, according to recent polls. A Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll of more than 2,100 adults revealed that the public would overwhelmingly oppose an additional tax even if it may lead to healthier eating habits.

Fifty-six to 58 percent of responders said they did not want soda and candy taxes respectively, as opposed to 21 to 23 percent who were for it.

"The idea of taxing calorie-rich candies and sodas may be popular with some public health advocates, who see them as major causes of the nation's obesity epidemic, but it is very unpopular with the public," Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll, said to HealthDay.