TAX WHAT YOU DON'T WANT:

The 10 percent sales tax was introduced Jan. 1, 2014. One year later, sales of sugary drinks were down 12 percent while sales of untaxed beverages -- mainly bottled water -- were up 4 percent, according to the study published Jan. 6 in the journal BMJ.

The short-term impact of taxing sugary drinks appears to be "moderate but important," said study author Shu Wen Ng, a research associate professor in the department of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues. Further monitoring is required "to understand purchases longer term, potential substitutions, and health implications," they said in a journal news release.

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