The Philadelphia City Council approved a special tax of 1.5 cents per ounce on sweetened beverages Thursday, the first large U.S. city to pass such a measure.

The wide-ranging tax will include regular sodas, diet sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks and other nonalcoholic beverages with added sweeteners.

It will be levied on distributors and could raise prices by 25% to 30% if passed along fully to consumers.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/philadelphia-city-council-approves-sweetened-beverage-tax-1466104155