Beverage taxes have been falsely sold as the silver-bullet solution to public health, but a weight loss expert with 25 years of experience is warning people not to fall for the hoax.

In a recent Bangor Daily News blog post, Jackie Conn describes these taxes as “a thinly-veiled attempt to raise some easy money in a way that will make citizens feel as though it’s in the best interest of the population.” Realistically, these taxes will hit low-income families and small businesses the hardest but do nothing to improve public health.

Conditions like obesity are complex and must be addressed with a comprehensive approach to the overall diet, not a short-sighted tax targeting one product. “There are better ways to help overweight citizens get healthier. They include education and incentives for making healthy changes to their lifestyles. Taxes, to be clear, are not incentives,” says Conn.

This is exactly what America’s beverage companies are doing with our Balance Calories Initiative. We are supporting people’s efforts to cut sugar from their diets by offering more choices with less sugar or no sugar at all, smaller portions, fewer calories and clear calorie labels so that people can make informed choices.

To learn more about our efforts to help people achieve balance visit balanceus.org