Three cities in California’s Bay Area — San Francisco, Oakland and Albany — approved 1-cent-per-ounce soda taxes and Boulder, Colo., voted for a 2-cent levy on sugary beverages, marking large, landmark victories for public health campaigners against the beverage industry. Only two years ago, Berkeley, Calif., was the first city in the country to enact a soda tax.
The referenda in the Bay Area were patterned on Berkeley’s initiative. Proponents said the soda tax, by discouraging consumption, would fight the obesity epidemic and related chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. In Boulder, the campaign also keyed in on public health. Two-thirds of Americans are over-weight or obese.
“Regardless of the outcome of the Bay Area races, supporters expected other cities in the United States and elsewhere to follow suit,” said the San Francisco Chronicle. It quoted Dr. John Maa, a supporter of soda taxes, as saying, ” As we’ve seen in Berkeley, every time these efforts win, it leads to a reduction in soda consumption and, most importantly, it makes the general public aware of the health hazards of sugar-sweetened beverages.”
San Francisco voters approved the soda tax by a decisive 62 percent to 38 percent, according to unofficial returns with all precincts reported. In Oakland, the soda tax passed 61-39 and in Albany, the measure won 71-29. The Boulder tax won 54-46, with a 4,000-vote margin.
The beverage industry spent more than $20 million against the proposals. The Chronicle said the industry spent twice as much on the “no” campaign as has ever been recorded in a ballot measure in San Francisco. A spokesman for the campaigns against the Bay Area soda taxes said they were regressive and unlikely to work, calling them “bad public policy.”
In a statement, the American Beverage Association said, “We respect the decision of voters in these cities. Our energy remains focused on reducing sugar consumed from beverages — engaging public health and community organizations to change behavior.”
“The industry will continue to out-spend because they can’t afford to lose,” said the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest. “But they have already lost: The science base is growing stronger for sugar drinks’ causation of diabetes, heart disease, obesity and tooth decay, and communities are acting.”
“Today, Boulder took an important pro-active step toward ensuring that all of us — our children in particular — have every opportunity to make better choices and to lead healthy lives,” said campaign manager Angelique Espinoza of Healthy Boulder Kids, according to the Daily Camera newspaper.
The beverage industry had prevailed in 40 earlier votes on soda taxes across the country, said the Daily Camera.
The Cook County Board could vote on a 1-cent soda tax on Thursday at a meeting scheduled to immediately follow a review of the proposal by its finance committee. Cook County includes Chicago and holds 40 percent of Illinoisans. The soda tax was proposed as a budget-balancing measure, rather than a public health issue.
In June, the Philadelphia City Council approved a 1.5-cent soda tax, making Philadelphia the first big city with a soda tax. The beverage industry is challenging the tax in court.
The World Health Organization endorsed taxes on sugary beverages a month ago as a tool for reducing obesity and chronic disease. Taxes that raise the retail price by 20 percent or more can result in equal reduction in consumption, it said. Prevalence of obesity worldwide has doubled since 1980 and now includes more than half a billion adults, while 39 percent of adults are overweight.