Las antiguas bebidas de soda solían tener cocaína en ella

Sí, la soda tenía cocaína y se usaba medicinalmente.

La soda no ha durado tanto tiempo; de hecho, las bebidas carbonatadas no se inventaron hasta 1767. Joseph Priestly fue el hombre que descubrió cómo infundir agua con Co2, colgando un recipiente con agua sobre una tina de cerveza fermentada. La gente solía pensar que el agua mineral de manantial curaba los problemas de salud, por lo que trataban de replicarla con agua carbonatada; esta es la razón por la cual la soda se vendía en farmacias como medicamento.

La primera máquina de refrescos fue patentada en 1819, y el tipo que trabajaba detrás del mostrador era conocido como un idiota. En 1876, la cerveza de raíz comenzó a venderse al público, y estaba aromatizada con más de 25 hierbas, bayas y raíces.

El primer refresco con sabor a cola se vendió en 1881 y el Dr. Pepper se inventó cuatro años después. Coca-Cola se inventó poco después de eso, y en realidad se hizo con una pequeña cantidad de cocaína. La cocaína se mantuvo en la receta hasta 1928.

Después de años de ser una bebida saludable, finalmente la Asociación Médica Estadounidense llamó a los refrescos en 1942 por tener toneladas de azúcar. Como respuesta a eso, se crearon gaseosas dietéticas, allanando el camino para las adicciones al coque dietético en todas partes. En la actualidad, los estudios han relacionado las gaseosas con el aumento de peso para que la gente intente reducir su consumo, y como las ventas de gaseosas están disminuyendo, sus esfuerzos parecen estar funcionando.

San Francisco passes soda tax, other cities on track to approve

San Francisco passes soda tax, other cities on track to approve

City buses travel down a city street in San Francisco, California

Voters in San Francisco, California passed a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages on Tuesday, unofficial results showed, as the push by local governments to target soda to stem obesity and diabetes gathered speed.

San Francisco Bay Area neighbor Albany, California passed a similar measure, preliminary figures showed and measures in Oakland, California and Boulder, Colorado, were on track to pass as well, with votes still being counted early on Wednesday.

The levies on sugar-sweetened beverages arrive a month after the World Health Organization recommended that governments introduce these types of taxes in a bid to battle obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases.

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Opponents of such taxes say they hit lower income populations hardest, and that it is unfair to single out soda in the battle to fight obesity and diabetes.

Coca-Cola Co, PepsiCo Inc and other companies in the roughly $100 billion U.S. soft drink industry are fighting the taxes at a time when soda consumption is falling.

The San Francisco measure passed 62 percent to 38 percent and the Albany measure passed 71 percent to 29 percent. With 85 percent of precincts reporting, the Oakland measure had 62 percent support to 38 percent opposed, and in Boulder the soda tax was passing 54 percent to 46 percent, with the percent of votes counted unclear.

Philadelphia and Berkeley, California, are the only U.S. cities that have a so-called "soda tax" on the books.

Philadelphia and Berkeley, California, are the only U.S. cities that have a so-called "soda tax" on the books.

But on Election Day, four more cities will decide whether they want one.

Residents of Boulder, Colorado, and Californians who live in San Francisco, Oakland and Albany will vote on ballot measures calling for a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The Boulder measure calls for a two-cents-per-ounce tax, while the three California cities are calling for a tax of one cent per ounce.

The proposed soda taxes would target not only sodas but sweetened teas, fountain drinks, energy drinks and beverages with sugar added. Some sweet drinks, though, would be exempt. For instance, the tax would not apply to 100% juice products, infant formula, milk products, diet soda and in most cases, alcohol.

Soda tax proponents cite the need to reduce the incidence - especially in children - of diabetes, obesity and other harmful health effects of sugar.

The proposed ordinance in Albany, California, for instance, notes that "a single 20-ounce bottle of soda ... typically contains the equivalent of approximately 16 teaspoons of sugar." Proponents of the measure in Boulder say it contains "22 packets of sugar." In either case, it's a lot.

In addition to reducing sugar-related health problems, a soda tax is also promoted as a way to help bring down the public cost of treating those health problems.

The new soda tax revenue is typically directed into a city's general fund, but at least in Boulder there's a call for it to be used specifically for health initiatives.

Opponents of the soda tax make several arguments. Among them, specialized taxes raise the accounting and administrative burdens on business owners. And even though the soda tax is technically levied on beverage distributors, it is likely to be passed on to consumers by way of higher prices. Plus, low-income consumers, who buy the taxed product more than other groups, are least able to afford higher prices.

The jury is still out on the efficacy of taxing one type of beverage or food to reduce the incidence of diabetes or obesity.

Studies in Mexico, which imposed a soda tax nationwide in 2014, found consumption is down, as has early research in Berkeley, where the soda tax went into effect last year, said Donald Marron, director of economic policy initiatives at the Urban Institute. That alone isn't surprising. "Prices go up, people buy less," Marron said.

The potential health effects of the tax, however, aren't clear yet, he noted. What if consumers choose to substitute sugary beverages that are taxed for high-sugar beverages that are untaxed, such as 100% juice?

There's still debate among health experts as to whether naturally occurring and additive sugars are equally harmful or if additive sugars are worse in causing diabetes and obesity, Marron said.

These Cities Are About to Reach a Verdict on the Soda Tax

These Cities Are About to Reach a Verdict on the Soda Tax

Tim Boyle—Getty Images

They’ve become the latest battleground in a so-called “War on Sugar.”

As Americans vote for a new president on Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of voters in California’s Bay Area and Boulder, Colorado, will also decide whether they want levies on sugary drinks, another step toward making soda taxes a norm.

Three cities in California – San Francisco, Berkeley and Albany – and Boulder, Colorado, have become the latest battleground in a so-called “War on Sugar” that centers on sweetened drinks. Over 800,00 voters will decide on ballot measures to introduce taxes of 1 or 2 cents per ounce on soft drinks on Nov. 9, just weeks after the World Health Organization (WHO) advocated that governments should impose these types of levies.

The push for taxes on sugar and sodas has gathered momentum this year, as officials and health advocates seek ways to stem health epidemics of diabetes and obesity. On most ballots, the tax would not apply to diet sodas but does affect some juices, sports drinks and other beverages with added sugar.

Reducing consumption of sugary drinks is seen as a relatively easy way for people to cut down on added sugars, recommended by groups including the WHO, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Heart Association.

The trend has prompted worry and millions of dollars in advertising and lobbying campaigns from beverage industry giants like PepsiCo  PEP -0.15%  and Coca-Cola  KO -0.36%  that are facing declining sales of their flagship products in markets including the United States.

So far this year, Britain and Philadelphia decided to introduce levies on soft drinks and countries including South Africa have proposed similar measures. This follows a decision by Mexico to introduce such a tax in 2014. The broadening of these efforts raises the prospect of establishing them as the norm after numerous previous attempts failed, advocates say.

“The more these taxes pass, the more they will be considered in other jurisdictions,” said Jim O’Hara, health promotion policy director with the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington.

SODA ON THE DEFENSIVE

Both Pepsi and Coke are increasing options for less sugary drinks, responding to changing consumer tastes. Consumption of carbonated soft drinks hit a 30-year low in the United States last year, as water sales continued their climb, according to Beverage Digest.

The majority of California voters support government measure to reduce consumption of sugary beverages, according to a Field Poll released in February. In San Francisco, a 2014 vote for a similar tax failed to pass a two-thirds vote, but is expected by many to succeed this time around, as only a simple majority is required. The votes in the other cities are expected by both advocates and opponents alike to be tighter.

Fighting for survival, Big Soda has been outspending advocates of the measure, but not by much. Industry spending to oppose the taxes this year in the Bay Area alone has swelled to around $27 million to $28 million, versus around some $19 million by advocates, according to estimates from both sides.

Billionaires including Michael Bloomberg have joined the fray, contributing $15 million to pro-tax campaigns in the Bay Area. The former mayor of New York waged an unsuccessful campaign in the city to cut soda sizes in 2014.

Opponents say the tax, which would be levied on distributors, is unfairly targeted at drinks makers and could raise food costs beyond just soda.

“In effect, this is a grocery tax. It could be spread out on many items” by distributors, said Joe Arellano, spokesman for the “No Grocery Tax” campaigns in California’s Bay area.

In the California cities, the measures would introduce a penny-per-ounce tax. In Boulder, it would be 2 cents.