Well, but that's why we talk about it and decide this democratically. Where are we drawing the line on what the government does for public health? Right now,

Well, but that's why we talk about it and decide this democratically. Where are we drawing the line on what the government does for public health? Right now, we're not banning sodas, but a tax on them seems like a relatively benign way to curtail the public health hazard sodas represent. It isn't a slippery slope so much as a discussion we have as a people. After all, there's very little debate over how much right the government has to nanny-state us with all these traffic lights and traffic lanes (where in the constitution does it say that the government can tell ME where and when I can drive my car??), because we're generally OK with that kind of government-dictated restriction of freedom to move.