Soda tax to battle childhood obesity in Texas

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March 7, 2011

Meagan O'Toole-Pitts Jacksonville Daily Progress The Jacksonville Daily Progress Mon Mar 07, 2011, 07:36 PM CST

JACKSONVILLE —

The price of a 12-ounce can of soda in Texas may jump 12 cents if the Texas Legislature passes Senate Bill 1004, legislation that would place a penny-per-ounce tax on all sugar-sweetened beverages sold in grocery and retail stores.

“The point of this bill is to get a conversation started," said Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville), who filled the bill last week. "Not only would a bill like this raise revenue that could go to health care and education, it would help us save money in the long run by cutting expenses associated with health issues like obesity and diabetes."

If passed, the bill is expected to raise $4 billion over the course of the 2012-2013 biennium, and fight childhood obesity in Texas, which is the 13th most obese state in the nation.

“There’s no nutrition in soft drinks. It’s just sugar calories,” said Judy Beck, director of the Cherokee County Health Department. “Generally, if a youngster is consuming more calories than they’re burning, they’re going to be overweight. So depending on how many sodas or sweet drinks they’re drinking, generally, that would be a good place to start to reduce, to cut out.”

The bill excludes milk, soy and rice beverages, drinks that are made of more than 50 percent vegetable or fruit juice, and beverages sold in restaurants.

“Highly-sugared drinks like Kool-Aid, people use them instead of water and they’re empty calories and that adds to obesity because people don’t even think about the calories they get in what they drink,” said Dr. Jane Ragland, an internal medicine physician at Trinity Mother Frances. “Sometimes even an adult might get their whole daily caloric requirement (2,000 calories) in what they drink.”

Childhood obesity has been on the rise in the U.S. since 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Obesity among children 2-5 years of age increased from 5 percent to 10.4 percent, obesity among children 6-11 years of age increased from 6.5 to 19.6 percent, and obesity among adolescents ages 12-19 increased from 5 to 18.1 percent between 1976-1980 and 2007-2008.

Ragland, a physician in Jacksonville for nearly 12 years, said she has seen the upswing first hand.

“We know that hidden calories tend to increase obesity,” said Ragland, who noted that she has several diabetic patients.

The cost of sodas at school vending machines would be upped by the bill, but in Jacksonville that won’t make much of a difference, said Marc McCloud, Jacksonville Independent School District public relations coordinator.

“The only place where there is a soda machine that’s accessible to students is at the high school and it’s run on a timer and it only works before school or after the last bell,” McCloud said. “Any of the (other) vending machines either have water or 100-percent juice.”

The estimated $4 billion collected from the tax will go into the state’s general fund, and may help save teachers’ jobs that are being cut statewide due to a $5 billion cut in public education in the state budget.

“There are solutions to the budget mess we find ourselves in which do not involve making drastic cuts to vital services. The Texas legislature should be exploring these solutions,” Lucio said. “We've got to have alternatives other than cuts. This bill would help retain teachers and critical medical services.”

If passed, the bill will take effect Sept. 1, 2011.

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