Guess what: taxes on sodas haven't had any impact on the high levels of obesity among young people. A study from the University of Chicago says so.

Probably any parent might have predicted that unless taxes on sodas went the way of taxes on cigarettes, nothing would happen to change drinking levels of adolescents. We're only talking a matter of 3 cents or so per can here.

When the governor of New York proposed slapping on an 18 percent tax and the governor of Massachusetts set his sights at a much more modest 5 percent tax, neither proposal got the go ahead. It was the US Congressional Budget Office that 'considered' adopting that 3-cents per 12-ounce tax on sweetened beverages.

Think 3 cents would do it? They would barely alter the monetary contents of kids' back pockets.

With soft drink companies like CocaCola and Pepsi, we're dealing with corporations of the magnititude and power of Philip Morris and other tobacco companies. And if any change is going to be made, we have to treat taxing soda manufacturers with the same determination with which we - eventually - approached the problem of cigarette addiction.