TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE
SB 1520 SODA TAX BILL

Wednesday, April 10, 2002

Good afternoon. My name is Larry Cohen, and I am Executive Director of Prevention Institute, a national non-profit focused on strategy to prevent health problems before they occur. The Institute is a founding member of the Strategic Alliance to Prevent Childhood Obesity. As you are well aware, unhealthy eating is a major contributor to unnecessary death and disability in California. Our nation spends nearly one trillion dollars a year on diagnosing and treating disease. Nevertheless, each year hundreds of thousands of deaths due to preventable causes occur -- including nearly 300,000 deaths due to poor diet and inactivity. Nutrition-related diseases that once almost entirely affected adults are now being seen in children at ever younger ages. We have seen overconsumption replace underconsumption as the primary cause of nutrition-related illness.

We cannot rely on medical care to deal with the ill health related to poor diet. Medical intervention comes too late, after people are sick, and today's most common chronic health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, are never cured. Therefore it is extremely important to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Primary prevention -- taking action before health problems arise -- is vital.

Unhealthy eating patterns are the product of a social environment and norms that have been shaped by effective industry marketing strategies. The intensive marketing and wide availability of soda (liquid candy), fast foods, high-sugar cereals, and high-calorie snacks have diminished the availability and interest in healthier food options from the mainstream. The primary message of the food industry and soda manufacturers, as one example, is to consume more and more. The fact that "treats" might have their place in a generally healthy diet but should never be the staples of a healthy diet is ignored by food marketers and their message clearly is effective and has affected most consumers. Children are a primary target, with the goal of hooking them for life. Low-income and minority communities are also particularly affected, with resultant high levels of nutrition-related disease contributing to tremendous disparities in health problems.

Legislation placing a tax on soda is a community benefit. As one egregious example of industry practices promoting unhealth, soft drink companies have targeted schools for exclusive marketing contracts which prominently feature their products and sometimes lead administrators to promote sales in order to increase revenue for the schools.

The alternative to policy is to educate one individual at a time about healthy eating. Rarely can messages promoting healthy food choices compete with the billions of dollars food manufacturers spend on advertising and marketing. Lessons can be drawn from other health-oriented successes. Only with policies securely in place did we witness dramatic declines in lead poisoning, decreases in traffic-related deaths, and the change of norms related to smoking. Improving nutrition requires changing the environment in California and as we change California's environment we know we will be a catalyst and a model for national change.

The proposed legislation is valuable in the following ways:

1. At a time when obesity is increasing, government must make a statement that companies are responsible and must begin to pay the costs.
2. By providing resources to places like schools, the legislation helps create an alternative to the revenues from soda that too many sites have begun to rely on.
3. It makes California the legislative bully pulpit of the nation and will draw significant attention to the appropriate roles of government and industry.

The health of our children is our state's responsibility. The years of successful investment that decreased child death and disability is a source of pride. We face a new epidemic that is of our own and our corporations' making. California, with its superb natural environment for food production, should be a leader in the nation in the promotion of nutrition and health. This bill is an important step.

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