benk@nclnet.org<\/a>, (202) 835-3323<\/p>\nWashington, DC- The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds Berkeley, California for passing the nation\u2019s first tax on sweetened beverages yesterday. The measure imposes a one-cent-per-ounce tax on distributors, with proceeds going to the city\u2019s general fund. With the looming obesity crisis, soft drink consumption\u2019s link to health problems like obesity and Type 2 diabetes was likely the motivating force behind the debate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe residents of Berkeley were wise to support this modest tax on soda and to stand up to the soft drink industry. Taxes like these promote healthier beverages and fight the causes of obesity, \u201d said Sally Greenberg, NCL executive director.<\/p>\n
In San Francisco, a similar measure proposed a two-cent-cent-per-ounce tax but did not pass. This measure would have required a two-thirds majority vote, as proceeds were earmarked for health and nutrition programs. Mexico\u2019s soda tax, which was instituted in January, has resulted in decreased sales of high-calorie beverages and an increase in sales of water and low-calorie beverages. Even in areas where proposed taxes don\u2019t pass, consumer awareness about the adverse effects of soft drink consumption is increased, potentially yielding positive health outcomes.<\/p>\n
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About the National Consumers League<\/strong><\/p>\nThe National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America\u2019s pioneer consumer organization. Its mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
November 5, 2014 Contact: Ben Klein, National Consumers League, benk@nclnet.org, (202) 835-3323 Washington, DC- The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds Berkeley, California for passing the nation\u2019s first tax on sweetened […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1313"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10220,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313\/revisions\/10220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nclnet.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}