I won't be the first—or the last—to point this out I'm sure, but the article in this week's New York Times exploring whether sugar is, in fact, toxic does validate Mayor Michael Nutter's attempt to tax soda in Philadelphia, just as we tax alcohol and cigarettes.
The main support for the argument on public health grounds would be how much sugar Americans consume today over and above what we would get from just eating fruits and vegetables; the connection between excess sugar consumption, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease; and the damaging effects of sweet drinks—especially on the liver.
Taxing soda as a deterrent to unhealthy eating and as a way to help fund public health programs in a city with such a rampant obesity problem certainly makes sense. Maybe now the mayor can get City Council to go along with him on this one.
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