In 2013, Telluride, Colo., proposed a tax on sugary drinks that would require local business owners to pay the city one cent per ounce of sugar-sweetened beverages sold. The proposed tax did not pass, but generated a large amount of news coverage and controversy. This report evaluates the news coverage the proposal generated, examining the More

In 2012, the California cities Richmond and El Monte asked voters to consider a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). The measures appeared on the ballot alongside companion advisory policies that proposed earmarking revenue from the tax for youth obesity prevention programs and, in El Monte, for other city services as well. The soda industry More

The purpose of this project is to understand public debates regarding proposed local soda taxes based on experiences during 2012 in the cities of Richmond and El Monte, California, so that future ballot initiatives might better anticipate what to expect when sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are presented to local voters. News media content and online More