July 6, 2016
Page 9
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
Tax
on the
Sweet
Initiative wants to
tax sugary drinks
for kids’ benefit
C ervante P oPe
t he P ortland o bserver
A new petition initiative seeks to coun-
teract Multnomah County’s high rates of
heart disease, tooth decay and diabetes,
specifically in children.
Upstream Public Health, a nonprofit
seeking to address and transform the socio-
economic, community and political factors
contributing to the health of Oregonians,
has filed for an initiative for a new busi-
ness tax that would raise money to fund
programs for children’s physical activity,
nutrition and early health education.
The revenue for the programs would
come from a 1 cent per ounce assessment
on sugary beverages sold, such as sports
drinks and soda. Priority would be given
to programs that serve people of color and
low income communities, according to the
proponents.
Mel Rader, executive director of Up-
stream, said the proposal is being made
only in Multnomah County at this time, but
the group is in communication with other
organizations that are moving similar for-
ward proposals across the country.
While cities like Berkeley, Calif. and
Philadelphia have been the first to pass a
similar tax on sugar-laden beverages, pub-
lic health leaders in Portland have not yet
taken a stance on the Upstream initiative.
Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, spokesper-
son for the Multnomah County Health De-
partment, said local officials are currently
tackling the diseases caused by high con-
sumption of sugar by working with local
school districts on implementing policies
and practices that increased the availability
of water as an alternative to sodas and oth-
er high-calorie drinks.
The health department encourages
school districts to allow refillable water
bottles in school to encourage students to
drink more water and works to educate
students, staff and the public on the dan-
gers with surgery-laden drinks with the ad-
vertisement “Your kid just ate 16 packs of
sugar.’’
by
Photo by C ervante P oPe /t he P ortland o bserver
A cooler packed with surgery drinks at a Plaid Pantry store in the St. Johns neighborhood of north Portland.
The educational component is also tar-
geted to faith-based institutions. By work-
ing with pastors who urge their congrega-
tions to consume less sugar and sweetened
beverages, some 60,000 people have been
reached, Sulivan-Springhetti says.
“The county has long supported healthy
eating and active living. We know con-
sumption of sugary drinks, including so-
das, sports and energy drinks, and juices
with added sugar, are a significant contrib-
utor to the extra calories driving the obesi-
ty epidemic,” she says.
Upstream Public Health filed their busi-
ness tax proposal with the Multnomah
County Elections Office last month. Rad-
er says there will be a legal review of the
initiative that will take be around 2 to 3
months and then they would have 6 months
to gather signatures.
The petition would need 17,381 valid
signatures of registered voters to get on the
ballot, with a majority of voters approving
it for the tax to go into effect.