New York Governor's Soda Tax Proposal Draws Mixed Reviews

FoxNews ^ | 12/16/08 | Marrecca Fiore

[Ciexyz]

Now they're taxing ten year olds on their sodas. Pathetic.

[SweetCarolina]

What’s next! State soda drinking age raised to 18 with an ID to prove it?

[Deetes]

LOL.

[buccaneer81]

But no taxes on "circus tickets?"

Can't imagine why.

[Kitanis]

Well I have always thought about visiting New York City someday.

But, I think in the long run.. I will just stay away. 18% on all that stuff is just crazy.

[Kitanis]

Well I have always thought about visiting New York City someday.

But, I think in the long run.. I will just stay away. 18% on all that stuff is just crazy.

[Sacajaweau]

200,000 employees with big fat pensions....

[Mase]

I work in the soft drink business and we are told by the manufacturers that diet sodas after 6 months, can be harmful and if enough were to be consumed it could make you very ill.

Did they happen to tell you why diet soda becomes dangerous after six months or why it will make you very ill? I ask only because I've been in the business for more than 20 years and have never heard a soft drink manufacture say any such thing.

[Myrddin]

Aspartame can hydrolyze to methanol and a dipeptide. It has a half life of 300 days at a pH of 4.3 (soft drinks are typically pH of 3 to 4). The drinks delivered to our troops in the Middle East were left in the hot sun for extended periods. That accelerates the hydrolysis. Drinking a can of hydrolyzed aspartame leaves a burning feeling on the tongue and throat from the methanol. I've experienced the taste and knew enough to spit it out immediately.

[Myrddin]

BTW, the di-peptide can hydrolyze into aspartic acid and phenylalanine. That becomes a problem for people with phenylketonuria (PKU) who lack the enzyme to break down phenylalanine. Soft drinks with aspartame are co-labeled as containing phenylalanine as a warning to people with PKU.

[Mase]

Aspartame can hydrolyze to methanol and a dipeptide. It has a half life of 300 days at a pH of 4.3 (soft drinks are typically pH of 3 to 4). The drinks delivered to our troops in the Middle East were left in the hot sun for extended periods. That accelerates the hydrolysis.

Aspartame is highly unstable and will break down if subjected to prolonged heat. That's why it isn't used for baking and is why Splenda has become such a big hit. Aspartame also has a short shelf life in liquids. As Aspartame decomposes, it breaks down into its three original components (phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol) as well as the diketopiperazine derivative of aspartame. So what? This isn't dangerous in any way and has been tested extensively.

Drinking a can of hydrolyzed aspartame leaves a burning feeling on the tongue and throat from the methanol.

It's the amino acids that cause the cyclic peptide to form. The taste may be bad but it certainly isn't harmful. Your concern is an issue of quality, not an issue of safety. Again, this is why sucralose is becoming the sweetener substitute of choice today.

[Myrddin]

I choose to avoid soft drinks altogether. I've spent far too much money at the dentist as a consequence of the acid leaching calcium from my teeth at the (receding) gum line. Since eliminating soft drinks, my trips to the dentist are unremarkable cleaning and x-ray.

[Mase]

Since phenylalanine is, if I remember correctly, the most common amino acid and is found in most proteins, people suffering from PKU really have it tough. That doesn’t make aspartame any more dangerous to these people than steak. Only about 1 out of 15,000 people suffers from PKU. That still doesn’t prove aspartame is dangerous and makes people ill when it breaks down.

[Myrddin]

Methanol is metabolized to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde does cumulative damage to DNA and proteins. Acute poisoning causes blindness. The mortician is going to get you soon enough. No point in getting a head start on the embalming process.

[GregoryFul]

None of this crap is about health ... or obesity ... or scarcity ... or global warming ... or today's cause dejour ..

Right, "divide and conquer" strategy. Equal protection under the law means nothing to our current crop of filthy scumbags "serving" the public. Rape, pillage, and steal - has much more appeal to these pirates.

[Just Lori]

That must be why they want us to drink the diet stuff, eh?

[oscars300]

Most likely. Because frankly, diet soda does NOT:

-Contain a significant amount of energy.

-Cause any significant insulin spike.

Hence, diet soda making you fat would be something of a scientific miracle. Only epidemiological studies link diet soda to obesity, etc., but that says more about the crappiness of epidemiological dietary studies (a general phenomenon) than it does about diet soda.

The cancer and general health issues are more complicated. I don’t think it’s terribly dangerous, but I try to limit my consumption.

[Condor51]

Well.. at least Gov Paterson isn't turning a blind eye to the obesity problem.

(((((( rimshot ))))))

[mccainvoterinobamaville]

My biggest weakness is regular coke. (Liquid not powder :)). When I started my diet I found switching to diet didn’t help at all. I just cut down the amount of coke I drink from about 40 bottles a day to 1.

[mccainvoterinobamaville]

Besides helping me with my diet cutting coke out almost completely has also improved my dental health. Perfect checkup just last week.