That Slurping Sound You Hear is a Flush

Well, well, well. An interesting set of circumstances has befallen the softdrink industry. (By the way, we say soft drink in the South instead of “soda”).

That industry is beginning to holler about its ox, which is now being gored.

Remember, we told you there would be other goring down the road.

Funny thing is the weeping and wailing sounds a great deal like pipe tobacco and other smokers who have been in societal cross hairs for lo these many years.

On Feb. 14, the New York Times ran a story, “Is soda the new tobacco?”

Uh, as it turns out, the answer is an unqualified yes.

Here is the scoop: Americans gulp down about 50 gallons a year of sweetened softdrinks, or soda if you prefer. That is making us all fat, but it is really affecting our children, according to a whole lot of nutritional experts.

As a result, not only are adults coming down with diabetes, so are children.

So, what to do?

Leave it to the antis. A group of public health officials says they have the answer: put a tax on soda to help pay for such things as warning labels (you know what those are), produce major public health marketing campaigns (read Tobacco Free Kids, etc.) and other means to discourage the consumption of sodas (sound familiar?).

Something called the Joint Committee on Taxation has computed that a 3-cent tax on each 12 ounces of soda would rake in $51.6 billion over 10 years.

The soda industry has been startled by the amount of vitriol aimed at their little ol’ bottles of sugared and chemically laced liquid.

They seem to be saying, “wait just a minute here. You cannot do this. It’s, it’s un-American.”

What one soda spokesman said makes no sense, but sounds familiar, again: “If you’re trying to manage people being overweight you need a variety of behavior changes . . . . It can’t be done by eliminating one food from the diet. . .”

Smokers recognize this plaintive call. The soda jerks might as well get ready. Big change is coming for Big Beverage.

The anti-soda folks are already shouting the mantra of the anti: adding on taxes will change societal habits, and thereby reduce consumption, while at the same time providing money to pay for an anti-obesity campaign.

Some antis are even saying there should be a 1-cent tax per ounce of soda. This would make a 12-pack of Coca Cola selling at say $2.99 go for $4.43. Already, many states have put on beverage taxes to help prop up bloated budgets that can’t be balanced.

And of course, the beverage industry is saying sweet nothings about how it is concerned about obesity, “supports real solutions to obesity, and continues to step up to do its part.”

Blah, blah, blah.

A medical expert who was also on the team against Big Tobacco told the NYT: “There are aspects of the food industry that are reminiscent of tobacco–the sowing of doubt where there’s no reasonable doubt, funding of front groups, use of so-called experts, claims that new products which are safer for consumers are available, and the claim that they are not marketing to children.”

Smokers should have a good time watching from the sidelines as Big Beverage gets whopped over the head repeatedly by the antis these next months.

Enjoy your pipe and a cup of coffee. Without sugar, of course.

Tags: Antis, Joint Committee of Taxation, New York Times, soda, soft drink, south, Tobacco