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Unless you’re a news hound like me, you probably haven’t yet heard much about one of the proposals under consideration as Congress debates how best to pay for a possible overhaul of the American health care system. That’s likely about to change, and – as counterintuitive as it might seem – it’s the companies that would pay the highest price that are seeking to spread the word.

Support for a proposed “soda tax,” or the notion of a tax levied on the sale of sugar-sweetened drinks, is gaining momentum – and that’s exactly why the issue has become a central focus of the American Beverage Association’s marketing, advertising, and communications efforts. One might think that the companies at the heart of the debate would want to keep the issue as quiet as possible. But by getting out in front of it, they are, in fact, taking the first step toward ensuring that the soda tax never comes to fruition.

As I told PRWeek in an interview last week, if you’re not the first to paint a picture that consumers can get behind, then others will do it for you – and they won’t tell your story the way you want it told. By racing towards the issue, rather than away from it, the industry is setting the tone of the debate at the outset. Now, proponents in Congress will have to swim upstream against the perception that companies hope to cement among their key constituencies.

With companies such as Coca-Cola already talking about what they do to counter obesity and why the soda tax won’t make Americans healthier, the burden of proof in the Court of Public Opinion now lies with those on the other side of the issue. With every statement the industry issues about transparent labeling, the costs that may be passed on to consumers, and other ways that it seeks to keep Americans healthy, that burden only grows more difficult to bear.

The beverage industry is wisely seeking to control of the narrative before its adversaries do – and as a result, it may not be long before it experiences the sweet taste of public affairs success.

Gene Grabowski is Senior Vice President of Crisis and Litigation at Levick Strategic Communications and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with him @crisisguru.