Drinking A Lot Of Soda May Cause Lung Disease

Unlike coffee and red wine, soda is not one of those "good for you one day, bad for you the next" beverages whose benefits occasionally outweigh its drawbacks. Generally speaking, when it comes to studies charting the health of soda drinkers, the news is almost always bad.

Case in point: This recent study out of Australia's University of Adelaide, which finds that "lung disease can now be added to the list of poor health outcomes, after obesity and heart disease, associated with sugar-sweetened beverages." According to the report, participants who drank at minium a half-liter of soda per day were more than two times as likely to develop asthma or chronic obstructive pulminary disease (COPD), compared to those who drank no soda whatsoever.

The disconcerting results might be something for American adults consider before making up their minds on the issue of whether or not to reject proposed taxing on sugary soft drinks. According a new survey published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, out of the nearly 600 U.S. adults polled, 64 percent of respondents said they would oppose a 20 percent tax on soft drinks.

Where do you fall on the debate?