Soda Tax out, but Soda Tacks ... could be in

Philadelphia, PA--The controversial Soda Tax essentially died a few weeks ago, as City Council passed a budget without including a tax on the sweetened beverages. Many laughed at the idea saying a tax on soda is like "a tax on Sprite or Coke or any other kind of soda."

The beverage tax was aimed not only to raise desperately needed revenue for the city, but also reduce the consumption of sugary drinks that overwhelmingly contribute to the nation's--and the City's-- childhood obesity epidemic.

"Obesity is a major problem in this country," said Dr Jim Bartolo, a nutrition doctor at Pennsylvania Hospital in Center City. "I commend Philadelphia for taking a stand against the soft drink giants. At least [Mayor] Nutter tried."

And, according to sources within City Hall, the Mayor is about to try again, this time with the Soda Tacks Bill. The Bill, which could possibly be introduced as early as Monday, appears to have strong support within City Council.

Under the Soda Tacks, sharp, metal thumb tacks would be systematically placed on top of, on the sides of and occasionally inside cans and bottles of soda that are bottled, packaged and sold in Philadelphia County. If the Soda Tacks passes, bottling companies would be required, by law, to participate in the placement of tacks, that will feature the City's seal, on all sodas.

"Obviously, we're going to lose a few people along the way," said Councilwoman Debra Sizemore about the placement of loose tacks inside cans and bottles. "It's unfortunate but very necessary if we really want to curb our City's consumption of soft drinks."

"Our hope is that residents of Philadelphia will be so frightened to drink soda that their consumption of the beverage will plummet," said Tom Billinger, president of No Duh, Soda, a group that encourages children to drink more ice tea and Gatorade. "Imagine for a minute an unsuspecting young child attempting to grab a can of soda and instead suffering multiple shallow cuts to the hand. That could be their last soda. This is a brilliant Bill ... just brilliant."

Some viewed the Soda Tacks in a different light. "This is going to create so many jobs for the city," said one state representative who wanted to remain anonymous. "It will require lots of manpower to fasten all of these tacks to the sides of cans. This is exciting."

Soft drink companies have been surprisingly receptive to the Soda Tacks. Though vehemently against the Soda Tax, the companies believe their customers are so addicted to their product that no matter how sharp the metal tacks on a can, they will keep coming back for more. They were much less certain about the relationship between loyalty and a price increase on the product.

"We think this may actually increase soda consumption," said one soft drink bottling representative. "Drinking soda will be considered dangerous and hip. 'Did you see Steve? He was drinking soda today. We have to be like Steve. Let's go get several cases of soda.'"

Either way, Philadelphia will quickly find out how the Soda Tacks, if passed, affects consumption of one of the planet's most popular drinks.