Soda sales down 50%

[Fugus]

You look at the title and think that something good happened to actually get people to drink it less like maybe education or an increase in wages but nope.

Step 1: Healthy stuff is too expensive so people buy junk they can afford instead unless they want to take time (and in many cases cooking skills) they don't have preparing from scratch.

Step 2: Instead of making the healthy stuff cheaper so people can buy what they want instead of what they can afford, they instead make the junk food more expensive making sure the people have even less spending money...

Step 3: Profit for everyone but the consumers.

[Schattenlied]

Very few drinks are sweetened with sugar. Most use High Fructose Corn Syrup.

In the US that is. Most other countries use real sugar.

They both turn into sugar in the body, so, same thing... I mostly mean this really shouldn't apply to non carbohydrate sweeteners.

[Lady Dragonheart]

Good? Soda, particularly darker, sugary syrup-laden sodas are terribly bad for people.

[Jastall]

People become fatties because they don't exercise, not because they drink sodas.

Sodas definitely are a factor. They're pure sugar (or even worse stuff). Sure, drinking a Coke once per week won't harm you, but exercise can only go so far if you chug down one per day.

[belfpala]

They both turn into sugar in the body, so, same thing... I mostly mean this really shouldn't apply to non carbohydrate sweeteners.

Kind of... "sugar" is sucrose, which is a combination of glucose and fructose. HFCS is still glucose and fructose, with some of the glucose being converted to fructose.

[Schattenlied]

People become fatties because they don't exercise, not because they drink sodas.

That's really not true at all, weight loss is mostly diet, not exercise.

[Bullettime]

Sodas definitely are a factor. They're pure sugar (or even worse stuff). Sure, drinking a Coke once per week won't harm you, but exercise can only go so far if you chug down one per day.

Except many of the other options are actually equal or worse for you despite being marketed as better or have such a high price point/mark up that they're more out of reach.

[belfpala]

Good? Soda, particularly darker, sugary syrup-laden sodas are terribly bad for people.

Why is darker worse? The main ingredients for all sodas are carbonated water and sugar (in some form). Same for juice, for that matter.

[Bullettime]

Why is darker worse? The main ingredients for all sodas are carbonated water and sugar (in some form). Same for juice, for that matter.

The darker sodas tend to be higher in sugar and syrup. They're still not as bad as your average grocery store grape juice that costs $2 more for less.

[belfpala]

The darker sodas tend to be higher in sugar and syrup. They're still not as bad as your average grocery store grape juice that costs $2 more for less.

Not by much if I look at the nutrition label. The difference might be 40 calories, at most, per bottle. Actually, I'm going to the grocery store in a minute. I'll check.

[Bullettime]

Not by much if I look at the nutrition label. The difference might be 40 calories, at most, per bottle. Actually, I'm going to the grocery store in a minute. I'll check.

It's not an enormous amount, no. It's worse by definition, but not grossly worse.

[belfpala]

It's not an enormous amount, no. It's worse by definition, but not grossly worse.

I'm back! Grocery store is two blocks away...

All Coke sodas: 140 calories. Pepsi varied: 170 for Dew, 160 for Pepsi. 7-Up 120. Juices ranged from 110 to 170 (only counting ones labeled 100% juice.) All for the same serving size (12 fl. oz.)

The calorie difference in five cans of 7-up versus Coke amounts to adding a slice of cheese to a burger, fwiw.

[endersblade]

My primary concern would be where the line is drawn. Everything is made with sugar now a days.

No, everything is made with HFCS now a days. If it was just straight sugar, the problem wouldn't be as bad.

We put fucking corn in almost everything now. It's ridiculous. We even feed it to cows, you can't even process the shit properly. There isn't much nutrition to be had from corn, but apparently putting syrup made from it in everything is a-ok.

[Jastall]

Except many of the other options are actually equal or worse for you despite being marketed as better or have such a high price point/mark up that they're more out of reach.

Water's not more expensive than soda (where I live at least). I agree that juice is no better.

[Doctor Funkenstein]

They'd just pass the cost on to the consumer anyway.

Then it would be their fault for rising the price.

The reason they don't? Because they want the public to hate the law. And if they were the ones paying it, no one would give two shits.

Boo hoo. I feel so bad that these companies are losing money over it AND losing face at the same time. Sob sob sob. Broken heart, I have.

[oplawlz]

Pretty much this.

My grandparents used to make a trip a month for an hour or so and stock up on soda across the state line.

And that was only to dodge the nickel deposit. If you're talking about doubling the price for a tax you'll never get reimbursed for, that's even more incentive to stock up for the season all at once as they're non-perishable anyways.

Yup, unless you're poor and can't reasonably get out of the city. Taxes on cheap foods hit low-income households very hard, as has been pointed out to and ignored by modern lifestyle police for a while now.

[Shadowferal]

*shrugs*
Can always fill up a jug with water at the tap...

[Deleted]

While this certainly won't be enough to stop the ongoing Obesity-Epidemic (Check my Sig for reference and actual hard data), it is at least something.

Personally, I don't even get the appeal of Soda anyway. Have always just drank tap water and sometimes black coffee. We have such high quality water available for cents per gallon.

[Irian]

If this had been caused by people just not wanting to drink the crap, that'd be great. Soda is awful.

That being said, the moral busybodying isn't something anyone should celebrate. Something like this is a dangerous precedent, because god knows how long it'll take for this to hit products other than soda. The law has no place in moral/health taxing foods based on how healthy they are. Unless you simply want food prices to rise you should really not be in support of this.

[Blobfish]

Best water is this one

Ice berg Water $150 $US a bottle

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/8946...r-138-a-bottle