Michelle Obama is not expected to call for a tax on soda, a proposal pushed by many public health advocates who say it would reduce obesity and could help finance healthcare reform. The Chicago Tribune reports the American Beverage Association, the lobbying arm of the soft drink industry, has led an intense lobbying effort over the past year to smother a plan to tax sugared beverages. The association formed a coalition called Americans Against Food Taxes that included the soft-drink makers, their suppliers, and such mass marketers as McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza. The coalition argued that higher food and drink taxes would unfairly burden poor people. The coalition recruited a bevy of Latino groups to oppose the tax, including Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity, the National Hispana Leadership Institute, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the National Hispanic Medical Association. Nearly all the groups, including the National Hispanic Medical Association, had received beverage industry money in the past or have industry representatives on their governing boards. The National Hispanic Medical Association pulled out of the coalition last week.