Good morning. It’s Wednesday, May 15th. Politicians and citizens may still be debating the merits of Philly’s soda tax, but there’s no debating this: Sales of soda and other sweetened beverages have dropped sharply since the tax went into effect in 2017. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, sales at chain stores have dropped by 51 percent in Philadelphia since the tax was implemented. The tax adds 1.