While soda consumption continues to fall, sugary drinks are still very popular, and Americans consume WAY too much. Sports drinks have replaced sodas for many consumers, but these drinks are also loaded with sugar. More cities are implementing soda taxes, and hopefully this will start having an impact over time.

Could more than 2,600 deaths a year be prevented by taxing soda?

Some analysts think, yes.

In general, they assume that if the price of soda rises, people will buy less of it. “We assume that 40 percent of the calories saved by forgoing a sugary drink are replaced with other calories,” she says, meaning either calories from drinks such as milk or fruit juice or from food. “So for every 100 calories in soda avoided, only 60 calories are actually lost in the diet.”

This is not the first study to predict that a soda tax would be effective in reducing consumption. Yale University researchers concluded in this report that taxing sugary drinks would lead to economic benefits as well.

Using the funds that come from taxing unhealthy foods could be the answer to a host of health cost issues.