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Score two out of three for the Gillings School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina. Both NBC and CBS picked up on its estimate that higher prices would reduce demand for sweetened sodas. Its research model projected that a tax of 1c/oz would raise retail prices by 18% and reduce daily consumption by 56 calories. CBS' Michelle Miller told us that Colorado already levies the tax; Illinois, California and New York may be next in line. NBC's Robert Bazell quoted an argument against the tax: "The American Beverage Association does not think a tax on beverages will solve a complex problem like obesity." That soundbite sets up a straw man, since the Gillings study never claimed it would "solve" obesity, merely mitigate it to the extent of five pounds a year. Bazell did not point to the straw man but he did observe that "there is a lot of evidence that so-called sin taxes on tobacco and alcohol reduce consumption and generate revenue."
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