Editorial: Taxation Aligns Prices With Priorities "Taxes are an appropriate method of correcting for health and other social costs not accounted for in the private market cost," write Mitchell H. Katz, M.D., of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and Rajiv Bhatia, M.D., M.P.H, in an accompanying editorial. "State-level taxes exist on soda sold in grocery stores and vending machines in 34 and 39 states, respectively, and the mean taxes, currently applied for revenue generation, range from 3 percent to 4 percent. Not surprisingly, evidence on the efficacy of these modest surcharges on body weight is limited."

"More substantial surcharges may decrease the consumption of sweetened beverages and, equally important, increase the consumption of more healthful alternatives. 'Sweetening' the deal, revenues from surcharges could be used to increase awareness about the harm of sugar-sweetened beverages and fund structural interventions such as creating water stations in schools. Copying a successful tactic of anti-tobacco crusaders, the funds also could be used to counter the lavish advertising of soda and junk food or for 'marketing' ordinary tap water."

"In the end, putting our money where our mouth is means aligning our economic incentives so that we always serve up the healthful choice," they conclude.(Arch Intern Med. 2010;170[5]:405-406. Available pre-embargo to the media at www.jamamedia.)

SOURCE Archives of Internal Medicine