The nation's first soda tax has been passed in Berkeley, Calif., USA Today reported on Wednesday.
The measure will enforce a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary soft drinks. It gained more than three-quarters of the total votes cast, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters reported.
City voters in San Francisco defeated a similar two-cent tax on soda, where it needed two-thirds of the vote to pass.
According to supporters of the Berkeley initiative, the tax will help to dissuade heavy soda, energy and sweetened iced tea drinkers. Indulging in the sweetened beverages has contributed to the obesity epidemic in the United States, The Consumerist reported.
"Berkeley has a proud history of setting nationwide trends, such as non-smoking sections in restaurants and bars, curb cuts for wheelchairs, curbside recycling and public school food policies," said Vicki Alexander, co-chair of the group campaigning to pass Measure D, in a statement announcing a victory for the campaign.
Roger Salazar, a representative of a soft-drink sponsored campaign that was opposing the taxes in Berkeley and San Francisco, said California's vote didn't mean much on a grand scale.
"Berkeley is very eclectic. It doesn't look like Anytown USA," he told the Associated Press.
The soda tax mirrors other cities that have tried, but ultimately failed, to pass similar laws. Notably, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to impose a ban on large, sugary beverages, but it was blocked by a New York State judge.
