Support a penny-per-ounce sugary drinks tax for the city of Chicago

As a constituent and a voice for the American Heart Association, I ask you support a penny-per-ounce sugary drinks tax for the city of Chicago.  This tax would be a win for the health of Chicagoans and a win for the budget woes the city is facing.

Thousands of Chicago families are suffering from largely preventable conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease.  As the primary source of added sugars in our diet, sugary drinks---which include soda, sports drinks, sweetened waters and teas, energy drinks and fruit drinks-- play a big role. Especially troubling is that these drinks are the single largest source of added sugar for kids. In fact, today's children drink more sugary beverages than milk! 

Both in economic and healthcare costs (not to mention human misery), consumption of sugary drinks costs us dearly. But we can help prevent childhood obesity by cutting down on sugar-sweetened beverages, and a tax on sugary drinks will certainly help. Historically, taxes have successfully discouraged consumption of unhealthy products like tobacco, and the same should hold true for sugary beverages.

Unless we act now, prospects for future generations look bleak, with exploding rates of obesity, diabetes, cancer and heart disease on the horizon. I hope you will vote to protect our future by supporting a penny-per-ounce sugary drinks tax in the city of Chicago now!

Thank you for your consideration!