Column: Enact a sugar-sweetened beverage fee

The Legislature has convened for its 2022 session with ambitious plans to do big things. Will those plans include preventative measures to address public health — and specifically the health of our children? Lawmakers did not even consider a bill proposing a fee on sugar-sweetened beverages last year. Will they now?

We shouldn’t need to ask the question but in the face of past inaction, we must. Do we need to tax soda and other sugary beverages? You bet we do. Money talks and when these beverages cost more, their consumption goes down, as many studies have shown.

As a dietitian with more than 40 years of experience, I have seen the havoc that sugar-sweetened beverages have played on my patients’ health. I am routinely astounded by the amount of soda and punch that are a regular part of many folks’ daily intake without them even thinking about or understanding the consequences of this habit. Even one can of soda per day can increase your risk of diabetes by 25%. If you knew that, would you keep drinking these beverages?

We are in the midst of a pandemic. Who is more susceptible to becoming ill and having long-term consequences of COVID-19? It is those with excess weight and chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease. The research is super solid on how these empty calories are major drivers of many chronic conditions. Low income and minority communities with easy access to high calorie low nutrition drinks are the worst hit. Other jurisdictions have seen significant drops in the consumption of such drinks when a tiny tax is added to the cost.

When the movement to tax tobacco started, there was pushback by the industry. I think most people agree now that those taxes have been good as a disincentive to smokers.

So, let’s learn from that experience. It is time to push back against the beverage industry’s resistance to a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. Let’s be sure to remind our legislators — especially those responsible for moving legislation forward on public health — of the benefits of this tax.

It’s easy to say that we all want our keiki to be healthier. But words alone will not suffice. We as a community must ask our legislators to take steps to help ensure the long-term well-being of our keiki. It’s a new year in a time when health challenges are more serious than any most of us have seen in our lifetimes. Our actions must speak for our resolve and our sincere desire to do better to improve the health of all.

It should make sense to everyone that the revenue from taxing harmful products go toward health promotion and the treatment of the diseases they cause.

A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages will help fund Healthy Ohana programs. Programs like Da Bux that incentivize the purchase of healthy nutrition-rich foods.

We should expect our lawmakers to deliver on legislation that places a small fee on sugar-sweetened beverages this year. It would be a very smart move that would provide a win on every front. Let’s hope their desire to do big things this session includes responding to the urgency of this moment on an issue that directly affects the health of our precious keiki.

Vivienne Aronowitz is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator who has lived on the Big Island since 2004.