DeLauro proposes 1 cent tax on each teaspoon of sugar in soft drinks Proposes 1 cent charge for each teaspoon of sugar in soft drinks

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With high rates of obesity, diabetes and related illnesses prevailing across the United States, U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro on Wednesday proposed the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax Act, or SWEET Act.

It may not pass in a Republican-dominated House, but the idea of putting a 1-cent tax on each teaspoon of sugar in soft drinks, as the bill calls for, is “a serious piece of legislation; it’s not a statement” in a time when people are concerned about nutrition, said DeLauro, D-3.

In the last 30 years “you’ve seen a very substantial increase in obesity and diabetes in the United States. The statistics are really pretty extraordinary,” DeLauro said Wednesday.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DeLauro said, obesity rates have risen since the 1970s from 15 percent to 34.9 percent of adults in 2012, tripling among children.

The rates are even higher for African-American, Hispanic and low-income communities, with more than 40 percent of each group suffering obesity. Spending on related health problems costs the nation $190 billion a year, DeLauro said, much of it paid by Medicare and Medicaid.

With “a very, very strong link between consumption and disease,” DeLauro said she’s introducing the bill “at a moment … where there’s a heightened interest by the public in nutrition.”

According to the bill, the money would be used for “prevention, treatment and research of diet-related health conditions in priority populations, and for other purposes.”

Marlene B. Schwartz, director of the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, said, “The research is quite clear that a very significant causal factor in obesity as well as [type 2] diabetes (and) other metabolic and cardiovascular problems is sugary drinks. … There’s no debate that it’s important for people to reduce sugary drinks.”

Schwartz said a 1-cent-per-teaspoon tax on sugar in soft drinks is likely large enough to make a difference, although “it hasn’t happened yet anywhere” in this country. “Everything is based on simulated models,” Schwartz said.

However, she said, taxes on tobacco have been “extremely effective” in reducing tobacco use, which suggests the same would be true of sugar-sweetened drinks.

She also said that changes in the Women, Infants and Children program, which offers more healthful food choices, has made a difference in children’s eating habits, “even the foods they’re buying with their own money.”

A Rudd webpage, www.sugarydrinkfacts.org, states, “Sugary drinks contribute 22 percent of empty calories consumed by children and teens, soda is the number-one source of calories in teens’ diets, and young people consumed 20 percent more calories from sugary drinks in the period from 1999 to 2004 than they did 10 years earlier.”

The most prominent recent attempt to limit sugar consumption was in New York City, where former Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to limit drink sizes to 16 ounces. That effort failed when a New York state court overturned the city Board of Health’s approval.

DeLauro said of Bloom­berg, “I have great respect for the mayor and his efforts in this … but I’m intending to be successful in this effort.”

Chris Gindlesperger, spokesman for the American Beverage Association, said in an email that “The soda tax is an old idea that has gotten no traction in federal government, states and cities across the U.S. People don’t support taxes and bans on common grocery items, like soft drinks.

That’s why the public policy debate in the U.S. has moved away from taxes and bans and onto real solutions. We are focused on meaningful solutions that help address the complex problem of childhood obesity. Working with first lady Michelle Obama, President Bill Clinton, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and others, we have voluntarily removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools nationwide, placed calorie labels on all of our packaging as well as on vending machines, supported community programs that promote balanced diets and physical activity and much more.”

Folks at the newly opened Five Guys Burgers and Fries on Branford’s Route 1 had mixed views of the tax idea. “People are still going to buy it either way,” said Chris Stankiewicz of North Branford, contending that “a couple cents” aren’t going to change behavior.

The price difference could be significant, though. There are 39 grams, or almost 10 teaspoons, of sugar in a 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola, which would increase the cost of a can by a dime.

Pat McGuire of East Haven said, “I don’t think it would make any difference” but said a tax would be OK, “if they’re going to use if for prevention.” Education “has to start when you’re young,” McGuire said.

Wes Leimbach of Los Angeles said he opposed another tax. “We’re already taxed enough, so no more taxes,” he said. “We’re already overtaxed and overworked.”

People posting comments about DeLauro’s bill at nhregister.com and on social media were more adamantly against the idea. “Is this a joke?” asked “Anonymous.” “It’s not the soda’s fault that someone is overweight or has diabetes, it’s the person’s fault. Why is everyone so quick to blame something besides themselves?”

However, “Mary Ann” wrote, “I get why people are upset about this bill, but at the same time, sugar is actually addictive. People who are addicted to sugar, or people who know that sugar is really bad for them, and give it to their kids anyway, can’t or won’t make ‘good’ choices for themselves.”

“IamMeA” questioned why fruit juices, which are high in natural sugar, would be exempt, and thought candy would be the next target. “DeLauro and the rest of big govt, stay out of my life,” the poster wrote.

On Twitter, John (@JohnR3074) wrote that DeLauro’s proposal is a “terrible idea, but she is a Democrat and tax things is what they do.”

Janine (@sarcasmsign) called it a “BAD IDEA! This state already taxes everyone to death. There must be something more important. Like jobs/healthcare.”

A comment from the American Beverage Association has been added to this story. Call Ed Stannard at 203-789-5743. Have questions, feedback or ideas about our news coverage? Connect directly with the editors of the New Haven Register at AskTheRegister.com.