San Francisco’s residents are set to have their say on whether the city introduces a tax on sugary soda, according to reports. 

The city’s lawmakers voted yesterday (22 July) to include a proposal on a US$0.02-per-1oz tax on the ballot paper for November’s state elections, Time magazine has reported. The tax would be the first of its kind in the US.

David Chiu, president of San Francisco’s board of supervisors, said: “We have a responsibility to try new things and fight the fight and see where this goes.” According to Time, critics of the tax argued that it could end up passing costs on to low-income consumers who buy a disproportionate amount of soda.

Legislative efforts to implement measures to curb soda consumption in the US have so far failed. A long-running bid by New York City’s authorities to introduce a ban on 16oz-plus servings of full-sugar soda was finally rejected last month.

Mexico introduced a tax of MXN1 (US$0.08) per litre of “sugar-sweetened” beverage in January this year.