The Federal Government has been approached by several health organizations about the negative effects sugary drinks are having on the health of Canadians.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation is proposing a five cent federal tax per hundred milliliters on sugar-sweetened beverages, saying such a levy would be a sustainable source of tax revenue that would generate $1.8 billion every year for the public treasury. According to the organization, pop and other sugar based drinks are a leading cause of obesity, diabetes and many other health related issues in Canada.

"The best case scenario is it would prevent some people from going down the path of drinking too many sugary beverages," said Vice President of Medical Services for Southern Health Santé Sud Dr Denis Fortier. "The secondary affect might be, by increasing taxes you'd have a little more money in health care to pay for the needs of those that will get sick from drinking too many sugary beverages."

The continuous push by health organizations and experts to tax sugar-filled beverages has gained momentum in recent months.

"I am not a big fan of increasing taxes, as I think many of us pay a lot of taxes. I wish there were better ideas out there, but I think this is an idea that has proven to work in the past," said Fortier.

The Canadian Beverage Association is opposed to any plan of taxing sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks. The association, which represents 60,000 workers in the industry, mentioned that efforts to tax the products have not proven effective in reducing consumption in other jurisdictions. The organization also warned such a move could cause an increase in the the cost of groceries.