The beverage industry derailed the movement for soda taxes in California by convincing state elected officials to pre-empt local taxing authority in exchange for cancelling a ballot initiative that would have made all new taxes difficult to pass. But taxes are not the only way to reduce sugary beverage consumption in California or the U.S. as a whole.
The beverage industry has come up with several ideas on how to get Americans to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks. They even pledged to help with this by launching a 10-year campaign called the Balance Calories Initiative with the goal of reducing beverage calories by 20 percent per person by 2025.
Their plans include using promotional efforts such as product placement, featured merchandising, couponing and other incentives in grocery stores and supermarkets. To protect their bottom line, their ideas center around shifting purchases to low- and no-calorie beverages and bottled water. They plan to showcase these products by featuring them in the coolers at cash registers and end-aisle displays and offering mini-cans and new low- and no-calorie products in special displays. If implemented aggressively, while reducing the current strategies promoting sugary beverages, these ideas could have an impact on medical conditions that are exacerbated by sugar, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
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