Posted on December 14, 2016 | Forbes by Nancy Fink Huehnergarth
If soda taxes were implemented in a total of 21 major U.S. cities, thousands of lives and over $1.2 billion in health care costs would be saved over 10 years, according to computer simulations created by Harvard.
In addition, nearly $1 billion in revenue would be collected each year, helping to balance local budgets and funding important community health and wellness initiatives.
The simulations, which were prepared by researchers for Harvard's CHOICES project, projected the impact of a penny-per-ounce sugary drink tax in these 15 cities where one has yet to pass: Baltimore, Charlotte, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose and Seattle. The results for each of these cities, which do have the legal authority to implement a soda tax, can be found here.