Richmond soda tax to fight obesity makes ballot

Juan Cerritos, who works at Val Mar Market in Richmond, Calif. drinks at least four sodas a day. He is definitely not voting for the new tax. The Richmond City Council has approved a measure for the November ballot which would ask voters to approve a tax on soda and sugary drinks, the first such tax in the nation. less Juan Cerritos, who works at Val Mar Market in Richmond, Calif. drinks at least four sodas a day. He is definitely not voting for the new tax. The Richmond City Council has approved a measure for the November ... more Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Richmond soda tax to fight obesity makes ballot 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Richmond voters will decide this fall whether to impose what could be the nation's first municipal tax on soda and other sugary beverages - a penny-per-ounce surcharge intended to fight childhood obesity.

The City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday to place the measure on the Nov. 6 ballot, despite impassioned protests from grocers and soda drinkers.

The tax would go into the city's general fund, raising between $2 million and $8 million annually for soccer fields, school gardens, diabetes treatment and other antiobesity projects.

"Even a Twinkie has some nutritional value. But soft drinks have none. They're poisonous," said City Councilman Jeff Ritterman, a longtime Richmond doctor who proposed the measure. "I think other cities are going to follow our lead."

The tax would apply to soft drinks as well as Snapple and other beverages with added sugar. Most juice would be exempt, as would diet sodas.

The council's decision came after several hours of heated discussion. Councilmen Corky Boozé and Nathaniel Bates were the dissenting votes.

Tax on the poor

Boozé argued that the tax is unfair because it falls disproportionately on Richmond merchants and soda drinkers who have no means of shopping in neighboring cities.

"This is a tax on poor people. That's all it is," he said. "People are going to drink soda anyway. But people who can't afford cars are going to end up paying more."

Rosa Lara, a Richmond resident who delivered 900 signatures to the council opposing the measure, said an economic downturn is not the time to introduce new taxes, particularly in a city with a high poverty rate. Nearly 20 percent of Richmond residents live below the poverty line, according to federal data.

"People are already struggling to pay their bills," she said. "If the city really wants to fight obesity, why not make the streets safer so kids can play outside?"

Cities throughout the country, including San Francisco and San Pablo, have considered soda taxes as a way to reduce obesity and its related health effects. But no city has gotten as far as Richmond, said Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

"If these products are causing damage to the community, the community has a right to recoup those damages," he said. "I think Richmond's action is quite forward-looking. The science is solid linking soda to obesity."

Preventing deaths

A nationwide soda tax, similar to Richmond's, would prevent 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes and 26,000 deaths over the next decade, according to a January study by UCSF, San Francisco General Hospital and Columbia University.

In Richmond, about a third of African American and Latino sixth- and seventh-graders are obese, and an additional 20 percent are overweight, said Ritterman, who worked as a cardiologist at Kaiser Richmond for 30 years.

Soda is a prime culprit behind obesity because it's consumed far more widely than candy, ice cream or other sweets and has virtually no nutritional value, Ritterman said.

And if city residents can improve their health, and therefore feel better, they'll be more likely to become better students, parents, neighbors and citizens, said Mayor Gayle McLaughlin.

Ultimately, a healthier city will lead to less crime and be a boon for merchants, she said.

"Instead of hurting business, we think this will help business," she said. "People will see us as an innovative city. We'll be a national model."

Juan Cerritos isn't so sure. He drinks four or five Cokes a day and sells several dozen at the taqueria he owns at 27th Street and Barrett Avenue.

"I know it's unhealthy, but I like it," he said. "It tastes good. I don't know why they want to make it more expensive."