On Tuesday, a legislative proposal to impose tax, worth a penny, on every teaspoon of sugar in a beverage was advanced by Kansas Senator John Vratil.

The soda tax would add about a dime to the cost of a regular 12-ounce can of soda and would rake in about $90 million on its fiscal year, which starts on July 1.

Vratil said that diet soda, ice cream, cookies and sweets would be exempt.

“The thinking is No. 1, we need money. But perhaps just as importantly, obesity is a real, growing problem,” he added.

A study conducted in the US showed that if there was an 18% tax imposed on soda and pizza, an average American adult would lose about 5 pounds every year.

Researchers for the Archives of Internal Medicine suggested that soda tax could actually be utilized as a weapon to prevent obesity.

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