San Francisco goes for soda tax after victory on health warnings
Source: Reuters
World | Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:21pm EDT
San Francisco goes for soda tax after victory on health warnings
NEW YORK | BY CHRIS PRENTICE AND LUC COHEN
San Francisco is to have a second chance to vote on whether to tax soda after city officials this week added the measure to a November ballot that could expand the hotly-debated levy deeper into the Bay Area.
The move follows the city's legal victory last month against the soda industry, which tried to halt its effort to introduce warnings on advertisements for beverages with added sugar noting that they contribute to obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.
It will be the first U.S. city to introduce the labeling, due to come into effect next month. A vote in favor of a San Francisco soda tax could add further strength to national moves to deter consumption of the sugary drinks, which have parallels with efforts to reduce tobacco consumption.
The ballot initiative comes almost two years after an earlier measure was unsuccessful and raises the prospect the tax will spread beyond nearby Berkeley, California, to much of the Bay Area's northern region, which economists say could heighten the policy's effectiveness.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-beverages-sodatax-sanfrancisco-idUSKCN0Z82UJ