Coke Turns the Page

Coca-Cola has announced it will offer a slimmer can size in 2010. The new slim can will hold a 90 calorie serving size in comparison to the regular size can which holds a 140 calorie serving size. This announcement comes after a similar one last week that Coca-cola will also start displaying soft drink calorie counts visibly on the front of all of its products.

This is a great step for Coca-Cola and a giant leap for the industry. Pending legislation to tax soft drinks as a result of the obesity crisis in America is likely to have forced Coca-Colas hand on this. But I say, so what? If beverage and snack companies who are seemingly being sought after as the scapegoats for the crisis are willing to change their ways, then why punish them?

Our primary concern here should be awareness and education, not money making (although that would be ideal). We cannot stop people from making the choice to smoke a pack a day or making the choice to drink a Coke with every meal and then some by imposing a “sin” tax. While tax increases on cigarettes may have impacted the number of smokers out there somewhat, municipal codes to regulate smoking in public have hands down made the most impact. And let’s be real here, are we going to stop serving Coke at McDonalds or any other fast food restaurant out there? No, never. My point is that a simple tax is not going to make a significant difference in changing the way Americans think.

There are some things money can’t buy including a person’s choice. But we can make the choices healthier. Let’s not sell consumers short by assuming they are not willing to make the switch to a healthier lifestyle on their own. If a person is living a healthy lifestyle, then they certainly deserve to have a Coke without paying a premium for it. By penalizing the beverage and snack industry, we are only creating hurdles for everyone involved—consumers and companies alike. We have to give companies a chance to step up and evolve before we condemn their products with hefty taxes. We have to stop and think about the repercussions of our actions in this legislation.

Coca-Cola employs some 200,000+ Americans and an estimated 3 million in supporting industries. By implementing a “sin” tax on the snack and beverage industry are we going to achieve the goal of changing people’s minds? Or are we going to achieve some unwanted outcome as a result such as jeopardizing jobs in the process? This simple tax is just not as simple as it seems.