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Dear Friends:
This morning, the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity and the Cook County Department of Public Health hosted a press conference to release a new economic report that outlines the significant economic and health benefits that would occur if Illinois imposed an excise tax on sugar-loaded drinks. At the press conference, the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity issued a call for the creation of an obesity prevention and public health fund, as described in the Obesity Action Roadmap 3-Year Goals. Our suggested source of revenue for an obesity prevention fund is an excise tax on sugar-loaded drinks.
"A one cent sugar sweetened beverage tax would save more than $1.5 billion in health care spending over the next decade and reduce obesity-related health care spending in the state's Medicaid program," said Frank Chaloupka, Ph.D., lead author of the report and distinguished professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "We could expect to see the greatest declines in consumption among youth because they consume more sugar-loaded beverages."
For a copy of the press release and other supporting information, visit the "Press and Media" page on the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity's website.
Warm regards,
Elissa Bassler
Exec. Dir., Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity
CEO, Illinois Public Health Institute
954 W Washington Blvd
Suite 405 / Mailbox 10
Chicago, IL 60607
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