When you read ‘taxes’ what do you think about?
Income tax? Sales tax?
These kinds of taxes aren’t likely to make you a healthier person. But, medical professionals have been fighting with beverage companies like the Coca Cola Corporation and Pepsico over a ‘sugary drink tax.’
On the table is a penny-an-ounce tax to sugary drinks. Experts say that this tax would reduce sugary drink consumption by an estimated 15% over the course of a decade.
How much would the tax generate? About half of Americans over age 2 consume a sugary drink on any given day. So, a sugary drink tax would add up to a pretty penny.
The American Medical Association (AMA) wants that money to go to programs that prevent and treat obesity and other obesity-related health problems. What’s more, the group suggests investing the money where it will do the most good: in communities and schools seeing the brunt of the obesity epidemic.
A Tax That Could Save 26,000 Lives
Not only would a sugary drink tax raise money to make people healthier, it could also save the U.S. up to $17 billion. Over the next 10 years, a 15% drop in sugary drink consumption would add up to this much in healthcare savings.
But on top of saving healthcare dollars, experts estimate that American obesity would drop by 5%.
Five percent might not sound like much, but that 5% translates to:
- 95,000 coronary heart events prevented.
- 8,000 strokes stopped.
- 26,000 premature deaths avoided.
That’s no small difference.
Getting Healthier, Tax-free
The best way to avoid paying more for your sugary drinks is to just avoid drinking them. So, if you’re looking for an easy (and free!) way to look and feel better, here are two take-home tips:
Tip One: Keep track of your sugar intake.
Even the most health conscious person can forget to factor sugary drinks into calorie counts. Just one 12-ounce sugared beverage has up to 150 calories.
Start keeping tabs on how much you’re drinking by recording how many sugary drinks you have in a day. Get the calorie count per-drink, then plug the numbers into your calculator: sugary drinks times calories.
You’ll be surprised how many extra calories you’re taking in.
Tip Two: Gradually reduce the amount of sugar you drink.
If you’re like me, you have a drink of choice. I like iced tea, but for you it might be soda or even coffee with sugar in it.
So, instead of cutting out sugary drinks ‘cold turkey,’ cut back a 3-drink-a-day habit to just 2 each day. After a few weeks, cut back to drinking just one a day. You might find it easier than you think to ease these health-busters out of your lifestyle.
Cutting back on the amount of sugar we consume is not only good for our health—it’s good for our finances, too. Take action to reign in the sugar monster and you’ll avoid paying drink-related taxes or price hikes. But more than that, you could also avoid the life-changing health risks too much sugar brings.
Know someone with a sweet tooth for soda or coffee or tea? Pass this article along.
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