taxing soda

Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., and Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. recently published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine about the controversial debate of food taxes, specifically, the idea of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, which "may be the single largest driver of the obesity epidemic."

The co-authors propose that taxing beverages containing HFCS and sugar, i.e. increasing the cost of these drinks, will decrease the demand for and the consumption of them, which encourages consumers to switch to more healthful beverages and reduce caloric intake.

I think I'm on board with this. Why shouldn't the government step in? But then again, I don't drink soda. If folks start blaming Peanut MnMs... well... that's another story.