US blocks UN health panel from backing taxes on sugar drinks

GENEVA (AP) — The Trump administration has torpedoed a plan to recommend higher taxes on sugary drinks, forcing a World Health Organization panel to back off the U.N. agency's previous call for such taxes as a way to fight obesity, diabetes and other life-threatening conditions.The move disappointed many public health experts but was enthusiastically welcomed by the International Food and Beverage Alliance — a group that represents companies including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo. and Unilever