Getting healthier may keep tax away

Hawaii’s controversial proposal to tax a penny for every ounce of sugar-sweetened beverage may have been shelved by the Legislature this session, but its objective in fighting obesity should not be quelled. With the alarm against sugared drinks unlikely to abate, beverage companies that produce soft drinks that result in obesity will need to step up to make major changes aimed at reducing consumption, while better-educated consumers will need to learn the wisdom of moderation and more physical activity.

"Of course, it’s always in play for next year," warned Sen. David Ige, Senate Ways and Means chairman, as members decided to postpone the "soda tax" at least for now. The delay ought to be an opportunity for the beverage industry to make extra efforts to respond to the growing health problem of obesity, especially among children.

In January, for instance, the Coca-Cola Co. took a small yet significant step by launching an advertising campaign that acknowledges the nation’s obesity crisis and saying that it wants to be part of the solution. Though it got mixed reviews — health advocates said it didn’t go far enough — the fact that the beverage giant is even trending in that direction to help spread an anti-obesity message is encouraging.

In Hawaii, the fee proposed by the Abercrombie administration would have produced about $37 million a year to be used mostly for childhood obesity prevention and oral health care problems, with some of the dollars directed to adult obesity and diabetes prevention. It was proposed to the Legislature in December by an 18-member task force on prevention of childhood obesity, which detailed a comprehensive game plan; the "soda tax" was the most high-profile of its recommendations.

Dr. Virginia Pressler, executive vice president of Hawaii Pacific Health and vice-chairwoman of the task force, said the proposed fee was "not a slam on the beverage industry," which has promoted lower-calories options for consumers. "We all drink bottled water, so there’s lots of other opportunities besides sugar-sweetened beverages, which are killing our kids," she said.

More consumer education about sugar-sweetened drinks plays a big part in the state’s health initiative — many people, for example, don’t even realize what’s contributing to obesity. Senators were told of an 8-year-old girl’s grandmother telling a Waianae Coast pediatrician that she had been buying 10 cartons of fruit punch for the family every week because she thought it was a healthy choice. The girl weighed 120 pounds and had a rash on her neck that was a sign of insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes, testified Dr. May Okihiro, the pediatrician and faculty member at the University of Hawaii medical school.

In launching an ambitious five-year expansion of her Let’s Move! program, first lady Michelle Obama praised some companies for taking action to join the effort against obesity. For example, Wal-Mart reports having cut the prices of fruits and vegetables by $2.3 billion in the past two years and reducing the amount of sugar in its products by 10 percent.

"We need every business in America to dig deeper, get more creative, and find new ways to generate revenue by giving American families better information and healthier choices," Obama wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. "We know this can be done in a way that’s good for our kids and good for businesses."

Much more can be done in Hawaii’s school system as well. State Sen. Josh Green, Health Committee chairman and an emergency room doctor on Hawaii island, introduced legislation this year that would have restricted the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in elementary, middle and intermediate schools. Though shelved for now, it deserves further discussion.

The defeat of the "soda tax" fee this session also should not prevent changes in school policies aimed at combating obesity. Those include Obama’s recommendation that schools provide physical activity before, during and after school.