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	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		The parallels between taxes on sugar sweetened beverages and tobacco taxes
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:03
	Publish Date:		2016-12-13 18:00:00
	Description:		Several American cities have approved ballot measures in favor of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages. Public health expert Kristine Madsen of the University of California, Berkeley explains how smoking and a subsequent tobacco tax set a precedent for the more recent sugar-sweetened beverage taxes. "So, tobacco and the taxes on tobacco are a great analogy when we’re just talking about something like sugar-sweetened beverages because it’s a luxury. It’s a little bit like a luxury tax on alcohol or cigarettes. That’s your choice – that’s fine, but clearly it should only happen occasionally." There’s also the public perception – smoking is not considered as ‘cool’ as it used to be in popular ads and culture. Currently, that’s not the case with many sugar-sweetened beverages. "You’ve got all these athletes who are doing it and so it looks cool, so I think that would be a huge win if there was a shift in the population away from thinking that was a good drink." Madsen’s preliminary research has found that a ‘soda tax’ could have a really big impact on consumption.
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