Philadelphia becomes first major US city with soda tax

Philadelphia became the the first major U.S. city with a soda tax on Thursday The City Council gave final approval to a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary and diet beverages The tax, which passed 13-4, is a hard-fought win for the city The soda industry spent millions of dollars in advertising against the proposal, arguing that the tax would be costly to consumers Beverage bottling businessman Harold Honickman spent an estimated $1.7 million fighting the tax