Is Taxing Pop Really a Solution?

Over the course of the last few years - we have seen a new initiative coming from many different sources - where their goal is to get everyone healthy. We have seen it in movies, like Super Size Me - where the main character sets out to eat nothing but McDonalds for a whole month. Of course in the end there were many health repercussions from doing this and it probably turned many people off from eating at McDonald's ever again. From there - we have seen a lot of fast food chains introduceing healthy menu choices - like salads and apples and oranges instead of french fries. Now don't get me wrong - all of these are good steps towards becoming a healthier nation - but is it enough?

This initiative has recently been observed in schools. Elementary schools started instituting a regular physical activity time and in the high schools they stopped stocking pops and chips and candies in all but one place in the school. In the United States some schools don't even have vending machines. Even this year our own cafeteria has started to cook in a healthier way as they have a mandate to meet that was set out by our school board. And have you noticed the vending machine on the first floor - most of the chocolate bars and chips have been replaced with granola bars and crackers.

Recently I was listening to the radio and came across a news segment that was reporting that the state of New York wants to impose a new tax on pop. Their reason - pop is extremely unhealthy and causes so many health issues that then result in high health care costs. You can read the article from the New York Times here. Here are a few other articles that may be of interest as well:

- Studies
- Tax Proposal
- President Obama

Now although this tax isn't for sure, in the meantime - the New York Health Department has started a campaign against pop. They even produced a video that has many people turning away in disgust:




Now you tell me.
Is this kind of scare campaign effective? Does it make you want to become a healthier person? Do you think that the growing obesity in our nation is an epidemic of large proportions? Tell us how you responded to the video above? If the new tax goes through in America - what's to say that it won't happen here? If it does - would you continue to pay a large sum of money for something like pop or chips?