LAS VEGAS (AP) – The American Medical Association on Tuesday decided against a proposal to call for taxes on soft drinks as a way to curb consumption of the sugar-laden beverages blamed for contributing to obesity.
“We don’t want sugared soft drinks in schools. But a federal tax made a lot of people uncomfortable,” said Dr. William Hamilton, a Salt Lake City anesthesiologist who attended the group’s meeting at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.
The AMA instead approved a proposal for a broader effort to fight obesity.
The American Beverage Association fought the tax proposal but issued a statement crediting the AMA with adopting “a comprehensive approach to addressing the complex problem of obesity.”
Dr. Ron Davis, president-elect of the nation’s most influential physicians lobbying group, insisted the idea of taxing soda was not dead. He said soft drinks now account for 7 percent of calories in the American diet – the No. 1 source of calories.
“The epidemic of obesity in the U.S. has been developing and growing for 30 years, and it’s going to take decades to turn it around,” he said.
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