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Update!: Major Victory for Philadelphia, 1st Major US City to Approve Sugary Drink Tax!! (June 16, 2016)

Leaders in Philadelphia (13.6% Latino) have just scored a big win for Pre-K and public health with a newly enacted sugary drink tax! This week city officials voted to pass a 1.5-cent per ounce sugary drink tax in efforts to curb obesity and as a way to generate revenue for Pre-K, libraries, and parks and recreation programs.  Fewer sugary drinks (i.e. sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, and fruit-flavored drinks), means improved rates of heart disease, diabetes, and childhood obesity.

According to the American Heart Association, most added sugars consumed by children come from sugary drinks. Many kids consume their own age in a number of drinks per week! For instance, the average 8-year-old boy will consume 8 servings of sugary drinks per week. For Latino kids, sugary drink consumption is often even higher when compared to non-Latinos.

Despite great opposition from private industry, an estimated 3 million spent on trying to prevent the measure from passing, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and the members of the City Council voted to enact the 1.5-cent per ounce sugary drink tax. Initially, the tax was for a 3-cent per ounce sugary drink tax.

As the nation’s 5th largest city, Philadelphia is poised to set the tone for more cities across the country to follow suit with enacting similar policies. The city of brotherly love joins Berkeley, the Navajo Nation, Mexico, and the UK in passing a sugary drink tax.

Read more about this here.

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Soda tax discussions bubble up in Philly (Originally published, June 8th)

Support for a 3- cent-per-ounce soda taxes in Philadelphia seems to be panning out as a recent article explains that Councilwoman Cindy Bass stated that Mayor Kenny has secured the votes to pass a tax on sugary drinks.

Bass went on to explain that she supports the tax as she pulled her proposal on raising real estate tax an hour before the Council’s committee meeting.

Bass stated in the recent article that, “I’ve said, if the only thing on the table is soda, I would be supportive because I want to get these initiatives done.”

Sugary beverages like soda, juices, and sugary energy drinks are linked to higher health risks of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity.

Supporters of the tax hope to increase funding to help expand pre-kindergarten education and improve park, libraries and recreations centers.

To read about how soda tax discussions started among the council, click here.

To read more about the importance of sugary beverages in Latino kid health, click here.

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