How else does a state apply pressure? The health implications are real; this stuff was cheap and available and market forces kept them there.
Cigarettes and alcohol are heavily taxed. A similar racket?
Cigarettes and alcohol are heavily taxed. A similar racket?
Or are you of the opinion that someone should be denied emergency medical care because they had some sodas on the regular?
Those who pay are everyone else. Healthcare t's a tragedy of the commons unlike other taxes where it's more difficult to abuse the common resource such as roads and other infrastructure.
Non-sugary foods and drinks are already heavily subsidized - like all agriculture - and that's something necessary to maintain food security. People still choose the unhealthy stuff.