The American Medical Association on Tuesday decided against a proposal to call for taxes on soft drinks as a way to curb consumption of the sugar-laden beverages blamed for contributing to obesity.

"We don't want sugared soft drinks in schools. But a federal tax made a lot of people uncomfortable," said Dr. William Hamilton, a Salt Lake City anesthesiologist who attended the group's meeting at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.

The AMA instead approved a proposal for a broader effort to fight obesity.

The American Beverage Association fought the tax proposal but issued a statement crediting the AMA with adopting "a comprehensive approach to addressing the complex problem of obesity."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SODA_TAX_AMA?SITE=NYMID&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Ok, so we don't want the best for the nation because it's allegedly unpopular. Do I even dare to suggest that money changed hands between the AMA and ABA?]