Who should make your eating decisions for you?

The food police are feeling their oats , so to speak, and it is not  a pretty  sight. We have nefarious things afoot in the Empire State and that is not even the worst of it. First, there  is A.10129 that has been introduced in the New York legislature by Brooklyn  Assemblyman  Felix Ortiz. The bill would ban the use of salt in any restaurant in the state and provide for  a fine of $1000 per violation.

Item#2, also from New York. For the second straight year Gov Paterson has included a proposed soda tax in his budget. Now, read very carefully his reason.” Someone has got to contribute to the $7.6 billion the state spends every year to treat obesity.” His proposal dovetails nicely with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s call for  a  1  cent tax per  ounce on soft drinks. Paterson also hinted that other products such as  burgers and candy bars could be tax targets.

And, just down I-95 in Philadelphia, the city budget for fiscal year 2011 includes  a 2 cents per ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages. Approval is pending.

Finally, researchers writing in the Archives of Internal Medicine   are suggesting taxation as a weapon in the obesity fight. They estimate that an 18% tax on pizza and soft drinks could  cause a decrease of as much as 5  pounds annually in the weight  of  the average American adult. Presumably this would happen by reduced consumption due to the tax.The team, which was led by Kiyah Duffy of  UNC has strong allies in the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control director, Dr Thomas Frieden.

What  does all  this  activity bring to mind? Why, the campaign against smoking, of course. Don’t be at all alarmed if somewhere, either New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco  gets this tax passed. If one city does it, others will be sure to follow. Then,the door is open to tax on multiple  items;candy, cookies, any fast food, even sugar itself. And, it is all in the name of health. So, that wouls make it good and right, right?