Should You Pay More For Sugary Drinks?

In Boulder, Colorado, you’ll pay more for your favorite sports drink. It’s one of several U.S. cities where people are charged an extra tax when they buy soda and other sugary drinks. The tax is usually a penny or two per ounce. So the price of a regular-sized can of soda goes up by as much as 24 cents. 

The tax is meant to discourage people from buying drinks that are loaded with sugar. A recent study found that the plan is working. In five cities with the extra tax, sales of sweetened drinks dropped by 33 percent. Experts say that’s good news. Drinking too many sugary beverages increases the risk of developing health problems.  

But other people think adding an extra tax on sugary drinks won’t do much to improve people’s health. They argue that it’s better to encourage Americans to make lifestyle changes, like exercising more often.

Sugary beverages aren’t healthy. But a survey found that about 6 in 10 kids drink at least one sweetened beverage a day. Just one serving of a sugary drink daily could put you at higher risk for heart disease, according to the American Heart Association. That’s scary! 

An extra tax would make sugary drinks more expensive, so fewer people might buy them. People might choose better options, like water, and get healthier in the process.

If the government wants people to be healthier, forcing them to pay more for sweetened drinks isn’t the answer. After all, many other treats are unhealthy. So singling out sugary drinks doesn’t make sense.   

Why not lower the prices of healthy foods instead? Also, teaching people how to build healthy habits would be more helpful than higher taxes. For example, people could be encouraged to take daily walks.