Today, I'm going to take the time to debunk the myth that the soda tax will make people healthier. Now, before I start, I want to say a few things: First off, I'm not with a beverage company, I'm not paid by one, nor am I getting free swag from this. Not only that, I also want to point out that I'm not dismissing the fact that soda isn't great for you, but it isn't inherently bad. It seems so many people want to make it an either/or debate, when really, it isn't. But more on that later.
Soda alone does not make a person fat. In fact, simply put, soda in moderation isn't bad at all. If you have a can of soda once every two days, you're not doing that much harm to your body. If you exercise, you're in even better shape. Every day, you see people eating fast food, buying junk food, and simply consuming what they can either get their hands on the easiest or they enjoy. If, in the end, they exercise, stay active, and balance it with healthy food, really, what's the problem?
The idea of "taxing soda" is that it reduces consumption. There's a few problems with that logic.
For starters, it only taxes soda made with sugar and/or high-fructose corn syrup. You know what it doesn't tax? DIET Soda. So, the guy who wants to buy soda still can buy it without paying tax if he's willing to put something worse into his body.
Wait, what?
Point 1: DIET SODA IS BAD FOR YOU
For starters, Aspartame, the sweetener found in Nutra-Sweet, is commonly used in diet sodas. For me and others, it can actually trigger asthma attacks and other problems not related to caffeine consumption itself. Side-effects of it include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood. The FDA has approved it, but it's only allowed in 90 countries out of over 150. In fact, it's 180 times sweeter than sugar. Neat, huh? So all the joy of sugar, but with much more painful side-effects. Throw in the fact that some people seem to ignore the fact that it is just as bad as soda itself, minus the calories, and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. The FDA has approved it, but it's only allowed in 90 countries out of over 150. Just to be clear, the stuff isn't going to kill you unless you drink a keg full of the stuff, and even then you just won't leave the toilet for a week.
Point 2: IT TAXES YOU FOR BEING CHEAP
Now, again, people keep referring to this thing as a "soda tax". The problem, though, is that it isn't a SODA tax; it's a SUGAR tax.
So, lets say you decide to not drink soda anymore because you hate the tax, so you go to the store to buy some juice. You have a choice between Mott's 100% Fruit Juice at $3.99 a gallon or a no-name brand for $2. You go up to the counter, pull out your $2... and then you're hit with a 2-cent per ounce tax! WHAT?!
Well, here's the problem: The juice you just bought has sugar in it. Yep, sugar! That means you would be required to pay an added tax on that juice to make you healthier. Your cost of living just rose thanks to this tax!
So the tax that was supposed to encourage people to make healthier choices may do just the opposite in some cases. Instead, they may buy bottled water which, in some cases, is actually pretty bad for you. It also makes it more expensive to make a healthy choice as well.
Point 3: IT TAXES YOU FOR BEING ACTIVE AND HEALTHY!
OK, lets just say you don't drink soda, and you only drink 100% natural juice. Awesome, and good for you! Personally, I couldn't do it, but still, good for you.
You've just hung out with your friends and played a great game of basketball, or maybe you just got done riding your bike around Fairmount Park, maybe even to work. You've worked hard, you're tired, and now you need to get some nutrients back in your body. So, just like most people, you go into the store and buy a Gateroade, Powerade, or maybe some other sort of sports drink.
BAM! 2 CENT AN OUNCE TAX!
Yes, your sports drink is now taxed thank to this law, so now there's a tax on being active and fit and not paying to drink bottled water. What? When was the last time you saw a water fountain in Philadelphia?
Point 4: TAXING THOSE WHO NEED IT
And now, the final group. Diabetics.
Now, this law, to those who want to point to the health benefits, is supposed to help stop people from getting diabetes, and to be honest, that's a great thing to try and stop. But, sadly, some people have it, and some people develop it at even a young age.
Thanks to this law, their little energy boost just got taxed.
In my life, I only knew of one person with the disease, and I want to state now that I don't know what type it was. I don't know if it was because they had low blood sugar, or if it was high. In the end, I knew they had the disease and it was a problem. Periodically while we were out, their blood sugar would get low and, being out of whatever it was that they may have had on them, we would go into the store and get a bottle of soda, or tea, or anything else with sugar in it to drink.
This tax will effect them as well.
I started by saying that we all want to paint soda in one way or another in this debate. There are people who so easily want, and do, compare it to smoking tobacco when, really, it's apples and oranges. There are also those who may go to far in their love of the drink to say it isn't bad at all. These people are also wrong.
Soda is fine.
We, as a society over the past 30 years, have taken the easy way out in these problems too many times. We seem to look to our government not to protect us, but to protect us from ourselves. This is one of the instances where we must start saying enough. This is when we need to start saying we need to be treated as adults, not children.
Soda isn't great for you. Personally, I drink about 20 - 32oz a day. Everyday. How and why can I do that, you ask? Because I can, and I know how much I can take. Everyone on this planet is different. What's right for you may not be right for me, and vice-versa. As Lemmy Kilmeister would tell you, "Anything that's good for me is fucking poison for a human being!" Actually, that one is true and no exaggeration, but you get my point.
I'm not trying to preach to everyone that soda is great, but I am saying that we need to start treating this just for what it is; a personal health matter.
Parents: Don't give your kid too much soda or sweets, it isn't good for them. A little treat now and then is fine, but not all the time. If you're an adult, just make sure you know how much you can handle and make sure you exercise properly.
In my humble opinion, if the City of Philadelphia cared about your health and that of everyone around, they would instead talk to Trojan and give out free condoms to the people in the city. Considering it's cheaper and easier to prevent STD's than it can be to treat it ($1 a condom if you're lucky)... yeah, lets focus on that and save a few more lives.
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