The Tax That Could Save Nearly 20,000 Lives Over 10 Years
As some California voters are set to weigh in on soda tax initiatives, a new study finds that Mexico's 10-percent tax on sugary drinks will save thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Los Angeles Times:
Mexico's Soda Tax Will Save 18,900 Lives And More Than $983 Million Over 10 Years, Study Says
A new estimate of the health impact of soda taxes in Mexico sheds some light on what’s at stake in ballot measures coming to a vote in three Bay-area cities and Boulder, Colo. next week. In cases of heart disease and diabetes averted, the model suggests that, in Mexico, those levies are on track to save close to a billion dollars and powerfully improve lives. After a tandem run-up in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, Mexico has become one of the fattest countries on Earth. In 2014, it adopted a 10% excise tax on the sale of sugary drinks. (Healy, 11/3)