California’s Ban on Soda Taxes Should Not Stand

The small but growing parade of cities battling obesity by imposing taxes on sugary drinks ran into a wall last month, when California outlawed the practice. But that wall, meant to stand until 2031, is already looking flimsy. Public health advocates are moving to bring it down in two years by persuading voters to pass a hefty statewide tax on soda.

It’s a smart counterstrike that deserves to succeed. A state tax would nudge all of California to lower soda consumption, as Berkeley residents have done since their city became the first in the U.S. to pass a sugary-drinks tax in 2014. (Bloomberg Philanthropies helped fund the campaign for the Berkeley tax, as well as a study measuring its benefit.)