If you’re used to downing several sugared sodas (try saying that three times fast!) a day, you might want to consider switching to the diet variety, or some other type of drink completely.

The price of those favorite sweet drinks may soon be out of reach, if leading health experts have anything to say about it.

Soda intake has increased by nearly 30 percent during the past decade, delighting manufacturers like Coke and Pepsi but increasing the chances of obesity and other health problems by 60 percent, especially in children.

Since they’re not necessary for living, some say attaching soda taxes to sugared drinks will cause people to replace them with healthier ones, like milk and water.

Though 40 states already have small taxes on sugared beverages in place, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, experts say it’s not enough to deter intake—or the obesity, diabetes and other health problems that go along with it.

At a mere 5.2 percent, the current tax in states that have already instituted them has had little effect on soda consumption, leading experts to propose a tightening of the belt and higher taxes, much like those already attached to tobacco products.

The solution, they say, is to raise soda taxes, increase product prices—and use the revenue generated to supplement state and federal budget shortfalls.

But most people asked whether or not they favor the tax are adamantly opposed to it.  However, “A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is really a double-win,” says Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

“We can raise much-needed dollars, while likely reducing obesity prevalence, which is a major driver of health care costs” as part of an overall health insurance reform package, Ludwig says.

If even one quarter of the calories consumed from sugared beverages are replaced by other food or low-calorie drinks, the decrease in consumption would lead to an estimated reduction of 8,000 calories per person per year—which equals slightly more than two pounds each year for the average person.

Experts agree that such a reduction would be sufficient to substantially reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes, and may also reduce the risk of heart disease and other conditions.

But should government step in to rescue us from ourselves and our vices? Or should we elect to make changes in our own homes and families? Are we hurting people around us with our ‘Coke habits,’ or does the future of our nation’s health lay on our government’s shoulders?

More Resources:

The ‘Real Sugar’ Scam

The Public Health and Economic Benefits of Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Soda Tax Weighed to Pay for Health Care

Fight Obesity? Add Sales Tax to Soda Tab