State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Souring On Sweet? Voters In 4 Cities Pass Soda Tax Measures

NPR: Voters in three cities in California passed ballot measures to place a one cent-per-ounce tax on sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages, a move aimed at tackling obesity.

In San Francisco, 62 percent of voters cast their ballots in favor of the tax on sugary drinks. Similar measures passed in Oakland and Albany, Calif. In addition, the city of Boulder, Colo., passed a 2 cents-per-ounce tax.

"The growing worldwide movement to tax sugary beverages can no longer be stopped," wrote Harold Goldstein, executive director of Public Health Advocates in a release today. Goldstein pointed to the World Health Organization's recent report calling on nations around the globe to tax sugary drinks.

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