Several countries have taken fiscal measures against free sugars. Mexico has implemented an excise tax on beverages with added sugars, excluding alcohol. Hungary has imposed a tax on packaged goods that are high in sugar, salt or caffeine. Additional countries have announced that they have intentions of implementing soda taxes including Great Britain, Northern Ireland and South Africa. Researchers at both George Washington University and the Harvard School of Public Health, estimate that a 1 cent per ounce tax would prevent 12,000 cases of obesity and save $65 Million in health care costs over a period of 10 years.
The taxes are designed to save lives, cut health care cost, and increase revenue. The soda companies are disappointed with the WHO report and are calling it an unproven idea that has yet to show improvements to public health. In the States, Philadelphia has already passed a sweetened beverage tax despite a 4.2 million dollar campaign launched by The American Beverage Association to oppose the tax. Similar measures are on the ballet for San Francisco, Oakland and Boulder. The Coca-Cola and Pepsi corporations have spent millions lobbying against dozens of public health bills since 2011 which target improvements in nutrition and reduction of soda consumption. In Oakland, the "no" campaign funded by the soda lobbyists is calling it a grocery tax. Citing that the tax is a new cost imposed on business which will increase prices on much more then just soda. While researchers in Mexico have documented a decline in soda sales since the tax implementation in 2014.
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