Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney scored a victory that had eluded more than 40 U.S. public officials who took on the powerful U.S. soda industry when the city council voted on Thursday to slap a tax on sweetened drinks.
After a bitter, months-long battle, the city council voted 13-4 to approve a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary and diet drinks beginning in January. The council already approved the plan in a preliminary vote last week, and the outcome had not been expected to change.
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The Philadelphia vote marked a major victory for health advocates who say sugary drinks cause obesity and diabetes. But experts noted those concerns were not the focus for Kenney and other backers of the tax as they took on critics complaining that "nanny state" public health measures intrude on residents' personal lives.
Instead, Kenney rewrote the soda-tax advocate's playbook. He played up the benefits of the cash injection from the tax for the city's depleted coffers. In the first year, the tax is projected to raise $91 million, and he pledged to spend funds on public programs such as universal pre-kindergarten.
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One of them is holding a sign upside-down.
Philadelphia passes soda tax after months-long battle
I'm pretty sure that folks who can make the drive outside the city limits will do so to stock up on soda.
