Summary and Response to "Soda Tax Battle"

Summary:
The article, “Soda Tax Battle," discusses the debate over raising taxes on sugary soft drinks in the United States. The article explains how Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr. Pepper, the three biggest soft drinks companies, are trying to lower the calories and sugar content in their soda drinks. These companies are also trying to produce smaller drink containers though they are not willing to write a warning label on the containers. The soft drinks companies, however, insist that there is no connection between obesity and soft drinks. This is not true because there are many studies that show that sugary soft drinks are often the reason for Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. The tax levied on soft drinks would limit the consumption of sugary soft drinks but most people do not favor the tax. They do not understand that the tax would help them to be healthier by decreasing their consumption while also bringing in an estimated $10 billion annually. This money could be used for research of "diet-related health conditions," prevention, and treatment.

Response:
Because of the knowledge that I already have about the harm which sugar can cause, I understand why the government wants to raise taxes on sugary soda drinks. I believe that sugar can cause obesity, Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndromes and other health problems that are mentioned in the article “Soda Tax Battle”. I think that the U.S. government should have more control over it and raise taxes for sugary soda drinks especially. In my opinion it would also be very helpful to put warning labels on soda drinks. It would show the customer how dangerous sugar actually is and how addicted you can get from it. I really think that it would be a big step to solve the obesity problems. Americans need to demand better from soft drink companies or they will find the most taxing thing will not be taxed levied on sugary sodas but their declining health.