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Based on the research i do believe that America should participate in the taxation of sugary drinks. I believe this because the overconsumption of soda in modern day America has severely impacted America's health. One way overconsumption of soda has affected America is making it one of the most obese countries in the world. The high sugar in these drinks coupled with their overconsumption leads to obesity. One easy way to prevent this is to charge a tax on these drinks which would discourage consumers from purchasing such products and those who do will pay the tax. The money raised from the taxes could be donated to organizations that research obesity and find ways to help people with diabetes and other health issues caused by sugary drinks. This tax would be greatly beneficial due to it discouraging the purchase of sugary drinks while also funding research into diet related health issues which could help many people.

Source: http://www.healthyfoodamerica.org/taxing_sugary_drinks

Tyler Melton

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https://www.stateofobesity.org/childhood/ - Gracie Driggers

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Yes ,I think America should tax sugary drinks because that way America can be on low on obesity ratings and live healthier lives. America would be able to be on the list for low obesity and other high in fat diseases list for all countries. America would have more tourism ratings and higher supporting ratings for food and drink companies. American government would also make money off of taxing sugary drinks but it wouldn’t just be a random tax, taxing the sugary drinks would be health beneficial to american citizens. another reason would be american citizens would save money off of not drinking sugary drinks.A number of cities, including Philadelphia and Berkeley, have taxed sugary drinks. Philadelphia and berkley are two of the most poulated and tourist areas in America
Tatum
Source- https://econofact.org/should-governments-tax-sugary-drinks

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I think America should tax sugary drinks. I think this because one male teenager drinks 3 sodas a day. Also in one month they will have drank 90 sodas. This is also only one male teenagers among the houndreds of thousands. This doesnt even include female teenagers. This has to be bad for the enviroment too. Think about all the aluminum being used. Matthew Robinson

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April, people who could not afford healthy smoothies could drink water

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Greg, what about the people who can't afford more expensive healthy smoothies?  Soda is so much more cheaper!

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Yes I think America should put a tax on sugary drinks because of the obesity problem. Normally one can of soda contains 35.2 grams of sugar. If you drank one can of soda per day you could gain 5 pounds per year. A personal experience was when my brother started drinking water and stopped drinking  soda and he lost a pound in 2 weeks. A study I found on the web page “A groundbreaking study of 33,097 individuals showed that among people with a genetic predisposition for obesity, those who drank sugary drinks were more likely to be obese than those who did not.” In my math if you drink 3 sodas a day for 30 days you would have consumed 3168 grams of sugar. I think that the tax should be place for the health of the citizens of America.

Source: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/sugary-drinks/
~Greg Nutter

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I think america should participate in taxing sugary drinks. Soda taste good but is bad for human body. It can cause heart disease and increase of body weight. I feel taxing on these drinks will make people not buy them. Taxing drinks may get people not to buy them. It may slow down people increase on weight to. These are some good reasons why the government should tax sugary drinks.
Kquadrick Harrison
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-ways-sugary-soda-is-bad-for-you?scrlybrkr

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Tyler McManus-I think  America should participate in taxing drinks that have a lot of sugar in them because sugary drinks lead to a lot of health issues like obesity, liver damage, and tooth decay. Another reason I think sugary drinks should be taxed, is that young children get addicted to these drinks and it can lead to obesity at a very young age. It is very unsafe for children to be obese at a young age. Obese children have a much more likely chance to develop heart disease  other children their age. It is not a problem if someone drinks a soda every once in a while. It begins to be a problem when people start to drink several sodas a day. When people start drinking several sodas per day it starts to affect their health.
https://www.obesityaction.org/community/article-library/childhood-obesity-the-link-to-drinks/

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- Mariek

Yes, I think america should put an tax on sugary drinks. Sugary sodas can cause insulin resistance, which may lead to Metabolic Syndrome. These sodas can lead to the gout. The gout brings all of a sudden pain. Also the more sugar the higher your heart disease risk. Source: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-ways-sugary-soda-is-bad-for-you?scrlybrkr#section9

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Yes, it think they should tax sugary drinks are not healthy for you and they keep you from having healthy drinking habits. They also can give you sugar-linked diseases like type 2 diabetes. Also, they can give you heart disease and tooth decay. They can make you spend a lot of money for your health later on in life which can possibly kill you. It increases the risk pf gaining weight and gout. Sugary drinks drastically increases Belly Fat Accumulation and may cause Insulin Resistance. Sugary soda also only contains sugar and no Essential Nutrients.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-ways-sugary-soda-is-bad-for-you

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The US should begin taxing sugary drinks, beacause in one month, if someone drank three sodas per day, they would drink almost 90 cups of sugar in soda alone. 20.6% of teenagers are overweight or obese, according national data. Soda is also bad for teeth, almost as bad as drinking battery acid, and drinking one soda every day can lead to a increased risk of Type 2 diabetes by 25%. Artifical sweeteners and coloring are also related to cancer and soda can sometimes contain mold inhibitors.- Gracie Driggers

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I think they should act the sugur tax. I say this because just in a month 1 male teenager can drink 90 sodas. Also that is 1 male teenager out of hundreds of thousands of male teenagers. Also if that rate continues teenagers will have the possibilty of going obese. Then when people keep buying those sodas it could cause poverty depending on your financial state. Then when people keep buying the sodas they will start to be in big demand then convient stores will keep buying the sodas causeing dept in the stores cause of the high demand and not being able to keep up with the high demand. But with that tae it might slow down then need for all of those sodas. If they do stop buying them people can get rid of that monthly dept of sodas. Then they would also decrease the rate of obese people. Thats why i think the sugur tax should be acted. Caleb b

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I think that the united states should not tax on the sugar. I think that it should be up to the people to decide whether they wish to live a long healthy non-obese life. Yes it may get people to buy soda less, but what about the people who minimally drink it? The people who minimally drink it shouldn't have to pay extra. The government shouldn’t have to watch after every person in america. We the people should control how much we drink and not have an extra tax on it from the sugar. The government shouldn’t apply a sugar tax. http://theconversation.com/how-sugar-taxes-punish-the-people-94014
-Josh

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I think America should participate in taxing sugary. My reason is that in just one year male teenagers drink 1080 sodas. If that continues many male teenagers will become overweight. America should tax sugary drinks because if they cost more they might not buy as many soft drinks. Drinking that many soft drinks will cause many health issues other than being obese. Since their is so much sugar in soft drinks drinking too many can cause diabetes. If America taxes sugary drinks that can eliminate many health issues.
Cameron Macdonald

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I think America should start taxing sugary drinks because the higher price of buying sodas will limit soda sales. The fewer sales in the soda industry will result in a decline in obesity, deduction in health care costs, and an increase in revenue. Other things will result from sugary drink taxes such as a decline in heart disease, diabetes, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels. Sugar and caffeine filled drinks are a proven cause of dehydration.

Dehydration causes a loss in the ability to focus and impairs cognitive function. Reducing the consumption of soda and replacing it with water has been shown to improve test scores and promote healthier lifestyles that last into adulthood.

Taxing sugary drinks can further be backed up by the data represented in the previous table and graph. After 30 days of drinking 3 sodas per day the average male teen will drink 90 sodas. If the sodas were taxed the average male teen could not afford to purchase an excessive amount of soda. A decrease in the amount of sugary soda consumed would prevent all the detrimental effects that would come from drinking the soda.

http://healthreviewcenter.com/blog/effects-of-soda/

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/19/opinion/what-a-big-tax-on-soft-drinks-can-do.html

https://www.economist.com/free-exchange/2009/09/17/should-america-tax-soda

https://shcs.ucdavis.edu/blog/archive/healthy-habits/your-brain-h2o

Shelby Copeland

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I believe that America should participate in taxing sugary treats. This is because the average amount of sugar in a soda and other sugary drinks is 32 grams (which is about 9 1/2 teaspoons of sugar) and the amount of sugar regularly needed is 37.5 grams(9 teaspoons). Most sodas don't even have any natural flavoring and nutrients, just sugar. This excess of sugar can cause major health risk such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer . Too much sugar can also make the body function slowly over time and rot away at your teeth with some of the acid in it.

-Caleb Hargrove
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-ways-sugary-soda-is-bad-for-you?scrlybrkr#section11
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/could-uk-sugar-tax-work-in-the-us?scrlybrkr#3
http://www.healthyfoodamerica.org/taxing_sugary_drinks

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Yes, I think taxing sugary drinks in America would be a great idea. Since the United States is one of the obese nation they should put taxes on things that make people overweight. If they use the taxes people will realize that the prices is outrageous and stop buying sugary products. Then if they stop buying sugary products they will lose weight. Taxes mainly needs to be on soda and candy because that's the main thing people buy. If that happen people would stop eating candy and go on a diet. I think taxes would be great because it may save some people life's and make them healthy.

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Based on my research, America should participate in taxing sugary drinks. I say yes because it could decrease profit on unhealthy items to boost health morals. Raising a tax on sugary drinks can show people they don’t need those drinks. It also helps reduce and prevent younger children to develop diabetes and obesity later in their years. The World Health Organization quotes “This tax could generate approximately US$13 billion in annual tax revenues in the United States of America in 2016.” This tax could also save the United States money. I have also seen what sugary drinks can do to your teeth as well when you drink sodas one after another and you won’t have a smile to show anyone.
Source: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/260253/WHO-NMH-PND-16.5Rev.1-
eng.pdf;jsessionid=B13DF05B08ABF27A0713E4808F70732F?sequence=1
-Margaret Rojas

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Allison Atkinson: I believe the US should put a tax on sugary drinks because of the obesity rate. The obesity rate in America between 2009-2010 for men is 32.2% and for women it is 35.5%. America would also benefit by having a decresein chronic diseases. If America were to participate in taxing sugary drinks the obesity rate would decrease at about 10-12%. Scientist believe the high amounts of sugar and calories in sugary drinks lead to chronic diseases such as weight gain and diabetes. Another benefit to having a tax on drinks is less money would be used to help people with chronic diseases cause by sugary drinks. If less people had chronic diseases then the goverment would save money and have more to spend on recent issues.

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Tampa, Fla. - Each year, more Americans are diagnosed with excess weight or obesity as well as many of the more than 50 diseases related to obesity such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and heart disease. People living with obesity do not need to be alone in working to improve their health, talking
Read Article

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Tampa, Fla. - Each year, more Americans are diagnosed with excess weight or obesity as well as many of the more than 50 diseases related to obesity such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and heart disease.

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It would be better if America participated in sugary drink taxing. In my research, I found that the average American drinks about 45 gallons of sugary drinks a year. Soft drinks also contribute to stroke and heart disease. As far as the economy goes, a tax can raise money for worthwhile causes, such as education. A tax may also convince soda companies to produce healthier alternatives, as this tax has done this in the UK. A tax on sodas could help decrease obesity and diabetes rates, saving money even further. Both diabetes and obesity cost billions of dollars each year. In 2017, a study by the American Diabetes Association concluded that 474 billion dollars was spent on diabetes and obesity. Mellie Driggers
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/making-sense/how-taxing-sugary-drinks-affects-a-communitys-health-and-economy

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Jazmyne Parnell
I think that sugary drinks should be taxed in America. I think this because sugary drinks, such as soda, cause people in America to become obese. These drinks can also lead to serious health problems that may affect people for the rest of their lives. Some of these problems being; diabetes, gout, and heart disease. Sugary drinks provide so many calories and no other nutrients that the body needs. If these drinks are taxed in America, people are less likely to buy them because the prices may be too expensive, or people may not want to spend too much for something that does no good for their body. In my opinion, this is a very smart move for America to make because it can make our country less obese, and with better health all around.
Source: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/sugary-drinks/