CONTACTS:
Dr. Harold Goldstein | Public Health Advocates Brown | Office: (844) 962-5900 x200 | Mobile: (530) 400-9106
Tanya Moss | Brown∙Miller Communications | (800) 710-9333
STATEMENT RE: Soda Tax Ban
Beverage Industry Extorts California Legislature to Deny Communities Health Taxation Rights
SACRAMENTO, CA, June 28, 2018… “Nearly two decades ago, Public Health Advocates introduced the first soda tax bill as a means of safeguarding public health and providing communities with the resources they need to protect and promote the well-being of children. Today, the unholy trinity of soda, alcohol and oil employed insidious back-room dealings to extort legislators to walk away from their obligations to public health, and to instead shield those unhealthy industries from local taxes for a dozen years.
In the face of an obesity epidemic and rising diabetes rates largely attributed to the increases in sugary drink consumption among Californians, we lost one of our most effective tools to educate and protect our citizens from the soda industry’s irresponsible and often predatory marketing practices. This is a sad day for California, for the health of the state and for children who are largely preyed upon by soda and sugary beverage producers.”
Dr. Harold Goldstein, Executive Director, Public Health Advocates
Download a pdf copy of the official statement here.