Soda taxes continue to be proposed as a solution to public health issues like obesity and diabetes even though it still holds true that taxes on common grocery items do not make people healthier.

A recent article by the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies states that the war on obesity will not be won with soft drink taxes because, “consumers don’t save calories as they decrease the consumption of one item – we make it up with other fattening drinks and food.”

And with only six percent of calories coming from products that would be impacted by these taxes, it is no surprise that in places that have passed soda taxes there has been no improvement in the health of the people who pay those taxes. Complex issues like obesity will not be solved by regulations that do not consider the many factors that contribute to these problems.

What we know to be true is that as the consumption of beverages with sugar has declined, obesity rates continue to climb – a point that the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies points out even “baffled” public health activist and industry critic Marion Nestle.

The reality is that politicians in many cities and countries are selling these proposals as solutions to serious public health issues when in fact they are a money grab pure and simple.

Click here to read the full article and learn more about why we won’t win the war on obesity with these taxes.