Here at Sip & Savor, we've been stating for quite some that taxes don't make people healthier. Today we'd like to share a similar viewpoint from an economist.  Dr. Michael L. Marlow, professor of economics at California Polytechnic State University, has surveyed the scientific literature and agrees with our perspective.

In a Rockford Register Star guest column published Friday, Marlow notes that soda taxes don’t lead to weight loss and, furthermore, that the notion that taxing soda saves other taxpayers money is simply not justifiable.  He also notes that a 2007 review of 25 studies on soft drink consumption and health published in the American Journal of Public Health showed that more than two-thirds did not find a significant positive link between soda and obesity.

More of Marlow’s work, done in tandem with Alden Shiers, who is also a professor of economics at California Polytechnic State University, can be found in an article, “Taxes on sugary beverages would do little to lower obesity.  Would Taxes Really Yield Health Benefits?,” in The Cato Institute’s Regulation magazine.

So thanks for your viewpoint, Dr. Marlow.  We agree.  Taxes do not make people healthier.  Making smart, educated decisions about diet and exercise do that.