Field Poll: 56% of Calif. Voters Back Soda Tax to Curb Childhood Obesity
Fifty-six percent of California voters support a tax on sugary beverages that would help fund childhood obesity prevention programs, according to a new Field Poll survey, the Fresno Bee reports.
The not-for-profit California Center for Public Health Advocacy commissioned the poll of 503 registered California voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Researchers found that support for the tax varied through the state. About 60% of voters in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles back the tax, while 43% of voters in the central San Joaquin Valley support it.
Harold Goldstein, executive director of CCPHA, said the poll also found that:
- 60% of California families with annual incomes less than $40,000 support the tax; and
- 66% of Hispanic voters back the tax (Anderson, Fresno Bee, 4/20).
Legislative Hearing
On Tuesday, California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) will chair a joint hearing of the chamber's Food and Agriculture Committee and its Health Committee on how sugary drinks have contributed to California's rising rates of childhood obesity and diabetes, the Roseville Press-Tribune reports.
The hearing also will discuss strategies to help California recover some of the $41 billion it spends each year on health care costs for obesity and diabetes.
Medical professionals, soft drink industry representatives, community health advocates and others will participate in the hearing.
Related Bill
Florez has introduced a bill (SB 1210) that would tax sugar-sweetened beverages at a rate of one penny per teaspoon of added sugar to fund childhood obesity prevention programs.
The California Center for Public Health Advocacy supports the measure (Walker, Roseville Press-Tribune, 4/19).
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