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Poor in Berkeley, Calif., say they're drinking less soda after 'soda tax'

By Allen Cone
A study from the University of California Berkeley shows residents of low-income neighborhoods in Berkeley say they drank less soda and other sugary beverages after the city passed a tax on the products in November 2014. File photo by Billie Jean Shaw/UPI
A study from the University of California Berkeley shows residents of low-income neighborhoods in Berkeley say they drank less soda and other sugary beverages after the city passed a tax on the products in November 2014. File photo by Billie Jean Shaw/UPI

BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Residents of low-income neighborhoods in Berkeley, Calif., say they're drinking less soda and other sugary beverages since the city passed a special tax on the drinks in November 2014.

After the city imposed a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened products, reported consumption declined by 21 percent eight months after implementation, according to a study from the University of California Berkeley that will be published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health.

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In nearby Oakland and San Francisco, the amount of sugary drinks consumed increased by 4 percent during the same period, the study showed.

Berkeley residents say they increased their water consumption by 63 percent, while the neighboring cities' low-income residents drank 19 percent more water during the study period.

Berkeley became the first city in the country to approve the controversial soda tax in an effort to reduce obesity and diabetes.

"While Berkeley is just one small city, this is an important first step in identifying tools that can move the needle on population health," said Dr. Kristine Madsen, a public health researcher and senior author of the study.

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Madsen and her colleagues from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco sent interviewers to areas with large numbers of low-income and non-white residents.

Near busy streets, interviewers asked residents in Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco how often they drank beverages in five categories: full-calorie soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, fruit drinks, and sweetened tea or coffee concoctions.

Interviews occurred before and after the tax went into effect. Nearly 3,000 people answered the questions in English or Spanish.

More than one in five Berkeley residents said the tax caused them to change their drinking habits. Among these 124 people who consumed sugary drinks less frequently, 40 percent said they had reduced their portion sizes.

The measure in Berkeley was billed as "Berkeley vs. Big Soda." It passed in November 2014 with 75 percent of the vote, and went into effect in March 2015.

Brad Williams, a consultant for the American Beverage Association, questioned the validity of the study. He said he believes man-on-the-street interviews are not very reliable. He noted respondents' reports of their soda consumption weren't drawn from journals, but reported from memory.

"Right after a campaign where the community clearly has gotten behind sticking it to Big Soda and the tax, it may well have impacts on responses," Williams told SFGate.com. "Are their attitudes really being changed or are they being affected by the campaign?"

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The trade group has already spent $545,000 in a drive to defeat the proposed tax in San Francisco this fall. The industry spent more than $9 million on its successful 2014 effort to defeat San Francisco's soda tax. A soda tax is also on the ballot in Oakland and Albany.

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