Penny tax would save lives

This Los Angeles Times story reviewed a study published in Health Affairs that said a penny tax on soda would raise $13 billion a year and save $17 billion in health costs. The study summarized in the article said Americans drank almost 14 billion gallons of sugar-sweetened beverages in 2009. A penny-per-ounce tax would cut consumption 15 percent and reduce the number of obese adults by 867,000 over a 10-year period.
The article provided an overview of the study but did not include quotes or material from other sources.

Kaplan, K. (2012, January 10). Soda tax could prevent 26,000 premature deaths, study finds. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/

Penny-per-ounce tax on soda (good summary)

This article examines the effects of a one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages. The authors, professors and a graduate student at different universities, predicted the tax would reduce consumption of sugar-sweeetened beverages by 15 percent in adults 25-64. "The estimate is conservative but consistent with other findings." They predicted an estimated 867,000 fewer people would become obese as a result of the tax and cut new diabetes cases by 2.6 percent. The greatest health improvements would occur among those 45 to 64 years old. Pop prices would increase between 20 and 25 percent with the tax. "In addition to generating substantial revenue, which can be used to fund health services or other infrastructure, the proposed penny-per- ounce excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is predicted to greatly reduce the adverse health and cost burdens of obesity, diabetes, and car- diovascular diseases among US adults."
The article contains excellent material related to my topic and also includes an extensive bibliography.


Wang, Y.C, Coxson, C., Shen, Y., Goldman, L., & Bibbings-Domingo. (2013, January 7). A penny-per-ouncetax on sugar-sweetened beverages would cut health and cost burdens of diabetes. Health Affairs, 31(1). Retrieved from http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/31/1/199.full?sid=7e334a4c-3941-4039-8329-84dcfe6777c5
 

Penny-per-ounce tax on soda (bad summary)

This article examined what the effects of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages. The authors looked at what would happen to consumption if a one cent per ounce tax was added to the price of all sodas. The study also revealed the health effects of the tax and broke out results for various age groups. The report also discussed how much pop Americans consume and some of the connections between soda and obesity. This article would be a good source for my paper.