Levying a tax on sugary soft drinks — products many public health experts say are empty of nutrients and add unneeded calories to our diets — has been discussed as a way of helping pay for health reform and combating obesity . Yesterday there was another article in the New England Journal of Medicine supporting a penny-per-ounce soda tax. (Read the WSJ’s story here .) But the Baucus health overhaul plan, also unveiled yesterday, doesn’t mention a tax on these beverages, notes the New York Times . A soda tax would face strong opposition in Congress and from the beverage industry and some consumer groups against food taxation also aren’t happy about the possibility, according to the NYT. Concerns include how consumers shouldn’t be told by the government what to eat, whether the poor would be disproportionately affected and how such a tax would affect sales. So let’s look at some numbers that John Sicher, the

publisher of Beverage Digest, a trade publication, came up with for the NYT: A two-liter bottle of soda, at 67.6 ounces, sells currently for about $1.35. If there was a tax levied, and it were passed on to consumers, the two-liter price would cost 50% more, Sicher points out, and a 12-can case of soda, currently at $3.20, would cost about 45% more. It sounds like a lot. But if you look at the prices with the hypothetical sugar taxes added ($2.02 for the two-liter bottle and $4.64 for a 12-pack using Sicher’s numbers) and compare them with the price of a half gallon (1.89 liters) of 100% orange juice, which the Health Blog is lucky to buy on sale for $3.50 at her local grocery store, it would still be far cheaper to buy soda. Image: iStockphoto

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Calculating the True Cost of a Soda Tax