New York may bar food stamps from being used on soda

The state of New York is looking to ban the use of food stamps for the purchase of soda. We think it's about time. In the same vein asa new Florida lawthat requires those receiving state taxpayer benefits to get drug-tested beforehand,
this report, New York has petitioned the federal government to allow state officials to banfoodstamp recipients from using them to purchase soft drinks.

If first lady Michelle Obama'seffort to reduce childhood obesitythrough better nutrition is worth itsweight, she'll convince her husband to make sure Health and Human Services approves the request.

Currently there are 1.7 million New Yorkers onfood stamps. If only half of them bought an average of three sodas at $1 each daily, that's$2.5 million a dayit is costing taxpayers, or$76.5 million a month.

That figure is staggering in and of itself, but subsidizing an incredibly unhealthy practice is mind boggling, especially given the fact thatdrinking soda has so many bad health side effectsit almost seems ludicrous to continue documenting it.

Moreover, the ingestion of soft drinks is known to be a catalyst for otherhealthdisorders and diseases, such as lowering calcium levels (which leads to osteoporosis) and causing anaphylactic (allergic) reactions.

In all, experts say Americans, on average, consume about 150 quarts of soft drinks per year, or about three quarts per week. The U.S. is the world's number one consumer ofsodapop. Soda consumptionis known to cause people to be overweight an obese, two related conditions that willaffect three-fourths of Americansby 2020.

And, as obesity rates rise,so, too, does the incidence of diabetes. In fact, the currentobesityepidemic will cause the number of people with thediseaseto double by 2034, and medicalcostsrelated to that dramatic rise to triple by then.

Which all ties back intocost: A large number ofpeopleon food stamps are also receiving governmenthealth carebenefits. So by subsidizing soda purchases, thegovernmentis subsidizing obesity and higher incidences of diabetes and adding to its health care costs.

Does this sound like something Washington should be doing? GrantingNew York- and any other state - the rightbanto food stamp recipients from purchasing foods and drinks that worsen their health and add to the nation's health care bill seems like a good idea.

Which goes to the heart of the issue - the gross injustice of making those of us who want to improve our health and live cleaner lives pay for the poor decisions of others. If someone wants to pollute their bodies with poisons, they should be allowed to do so, but only on their own dime.