Taxing Sugary Drinks: The Vermont Story

Obesity is a serious problem in Vermont-- currently, 58% of Vermonters are either overweight or obese and the University of Vermont found that almost half of the state's Medicare and Medicaid expenses can be traced to obesity—about $183 million a year. As the State of Vermont plans for its move towards to a universal health care system in 2017, policy makers are exploring strategies to decrease obesity and reduce the cost of delivering high quality and affordable health care. In November 2010, a broad range of public health advocates united to support the passage of legislation to create a penny per ounce SSB excise tax. This legislation has not advanced due to a lack of the public's understanding of the adverse health impacts of excess SSB consumption and elected officials concerns over the impact on retailers and the regressive nature of the tax. In this session, we will review our recent efforts to introduce taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages in Vermont, discuss the current public education efforts around the need for a penny per ounce SSB excise tax, and describe the creation of a broad coalition supporting this legislation.