Scientists associated with the University of California, San Francisco, have analyzed what the effect a nationwide tax on these sugary drinks would be. They have come to the conclusion if a penny-per-ounce tax was added to sweetened beverages, "it would prevent 240,000 cases of type 2 diabetes, nearly 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes, and 26,000 deaths every year." This tax would also add $13.0 billion in direct tax revenue for the government, while saving the public an amazing $17.0 billion per year in healthcare-related expenses. This could all be accomplished by limiting our intake of sugary drinks by making them mildly more expensive.
The consumption of beverages which are high in calories but poor in nutritional value is the number one source of added sugar and excess calories in the American diet. It has been understood by scientists for a long time that there is a direct link between sugary soft drinks and weight gain along with blood glucose issues. And yet in 2009 Americans drank 13.8 billion gallons of sugary beverages. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said reducing the consumption of these beverages is an important way to prevent obesity. So it is simply good advice to be very careful about consuming too many sugared soft drinks with the implication the campaign against them deserves as much consideration as the anti-smoking campaign.
