Despite all the attention that New York City has received for its anti-soda initiatives, it is Philadelphia that became the first major U.S. city to approve a tax on sugary drinks.
Backed by Mayor Jim Kenney and approved by the City Council on a 13-4 vote, the measure will impose a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on any bottled, canned or fountain beverage with added sugar or artificial sweetener, with a few notable exceptions that include baby formula or any drink that is more than half milk.
The tax will amount to an extra 18 cents on a 12-ounce can of pop or an extra dollar for a 2-liter bottle.
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Since the tax will be imposed on distributors, it's not clear the extent to which it will be passed on to consumers and whether that will happen immediately.
The Washington, D.C.-based American Beverage Association has vowed to fight the tax in court, calling it regressive and pointing out that many of the targeted drinks have no calories.
"The fact remains that these taxes are discriminatory and highly unpopular — not only with Philadelphians, but with all Americans," the group said in a statement following the vote.
While soda companies have marketed their diet or low-calorie options as healthy alternatives to full-calorie drinks for decades, medical authorities have generally treated them with skepticism. Soft drinks have been held up as one of the key drivers of the U.S. obesity epidemic, along with other types of junk food and fast food.
The soda tax is in many ways a more modest means of restricting soda consumption than other strategies that other local authorities have pursued over the past decade. One of the most common measures has been to stop serving soda in school cafeterias and to remove vending machines with soft drinks from schools or other public buildings.
Whether as a result of official action or simply growing health awareness, soda consumption has declined significantly, dropping by 25 percent over the past 20 years as consumers switch to bottled water or other drinks perceived as healthier. Luckily for Coke and Pepsi, they both sell bottled water.
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