Mexico’s 10-percent tax on sugary drinks put a dent in soda sales at first, but purchases are on the rise again, “making the country a key growth market again for soda giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo,” says the Wall Street Journal. In a country with the highest per-capita soda consumption rate in the world, the tax was a public health measure aimed at high levels of obesity and diabetes. “Underscoring the resiliency of sugary drinks, the tax of one peso per liter has raised more than $2 billion since January 2014, about a third more than the government expected,” says the Journal.
Data service Canadean says soda sales fell 1.9 percent in 2014, when the tax took effect, and then rose 0.5 percent in 2015. And, Mexicans still prefer full-calorie sodas rather than lower-calorie versions. Soda-tax proponents say unusually hot weather aided sales. Mexico’s Institute of Public Health estimates that per-capita consumption was lower in 2015 than before the tax took effect, which suggests population growth is a factor in larger overall sales.
Meanwhile, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated to the nonprofit Philadelphians for a Fair Future, which backs a 3-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks in Pennsylvania’s largest city. The group will begin an $825,000 ad campaign in support of the tax on Thursday, says news site philly.com. Mayor Jim Kenney says the tax would pay for pre-kindergarten for children. The trade group American Beverage Association has spent $2.5 million to oppose the “grocery tax.” Bloomberg tried to ban over-sized sodas in New York while mayor.