Mexico passes soda, junk food taxes
November 04, 2013 | 03:22 PM
Mexico, which has the highest obesity rate in the Americas, on Friday saw its Congress pass taxes on soda and junk food with Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto ready to sign the legislation, the Dallas Morning News reported Friday.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said the passage is a “major credit to Peña Nieto and the tenacity of the consumer group El Poder del Consumidor.”
Michael Jacobson, the CSPI executive director, noted that Telluride, Colo., will next week decide whether to enact a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar drinks and that a San Francisco city supervisor is proposing a ballot measure calling for a 2-cent-per-ounce tax.
“Big soda has had much success beating similar measures back one by one,” Jacobson said. “But as more and more jurisdictions simultaneously consider such taxes, it might be harder for the big spenders at the soda lobby to keep up.”
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said the passage is a “major credit to Peña Nieto and the tenacity of the consumer group El Poder del Consumidor.”
Michael Jacobson, the CSPI executive director, noted that Telluride, Colo., will next week decide whether to enact a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar drinks and that a San Francisco city supervisor is proposing a ballot measure calling for a 2-cent-per-ounce tax.
“Big soda has had much success beating similar measures back one by one,” Jacobson said. “But as more and more jurisdictions simultaneously consider such taxes, it might be harder for the big spenders at the soda lobby to keep up.”
