Soft Drink Makers Launch Anti-Tax Ads

From UPI.com:

U.S. soft drink makers say they have launched a $2 million advertising campaign to counter moves to fight obesity and fund health care by taxing sugary soda.

The American Beverage Association has joined forces with the National Restaurant Association and the Grocery Manufacturers Association to fight the consideration of any such taxes, building a coalition of groups called Americans Against Food Taxes, USA Today reported Monday.

The newspaper says the ads depict soft drinks as "simple pleasures" being subjected to grasping government bureaucrats.

"People view it as an overreach of government when the tax code is used to tell them what to eat and drink," Kevin Keane of the beverage association told USA Today, adding that such taxes would hurt low- and middle-income people most.