This is what the first major U.S. sugar tax looks like (talk about a crackdown)

• The Philadelphia sugar tax has increased the price of some beverages by 50 PER CENT since it started on January 1.
• Taxed products include both sugary and artificially sweetened soft drinks (soda), and even some fruit juice.
• Nearly 70 per cent of children are overweight or obese in North Philadelphia.

It’s not sunny in Philadelphia for the beverage industry, with the newly-minted sugar tax hiking up prices by more than 50 per cent.

The sized-based levy now means that, for example, a 128-ounce (3.6L) iced tea priced at $2.50 ($3.40 AUD) costs $4.42 ($6.01 AUD). And that’s not counting the sales taxes, either.

Surprisingly, the tax not only covers obvious offenders like Coca-Cola, but all sugary drinks – including flavoured milk, Vitamin water and fruit drinks with less than 50 per cent juice. To top it off, artificially sweetened drinks are also taxed.

Of course, this has caused some disgruntlement. But with nearly 70 per cent of children in North Philadelphia overweight, any health benefits that come from avoiding these drinks is worth every penny. In fact, around $91 million ($123 million) annually will be put back into community projects.

As the Australian Greens prepare to campaign for a sugar tax, we hope the Government can take cues from Philly to truly crack down on these products and help our growing obesity crisis.

Are you a fan of this hard-nosed approach? Would you support a similar tax in Australia?

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