The effect of beverage taxes on youth consumption and body mass index: Evidence from Mauritius.

Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are relatively new and there is limited evidence about their impact on SSB consumption or body mass index (BMI) (as opposed to prices, purchases, or sales), their impact on youth (as opposed to adults), or their impact in non-Western nations. This paper adds to the evidence across all these dimensions by estimating the effect of an SSB tax on SSB consumption and the BMI of youth in Mauritius, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, which we compare to Maldives, another island nation which did not implement an SSB tax during the time of our data. Results of difference-in-differences models indicate that the tax in Mauritius had no detectable impact on the consumption of SSBs or the BMI of the pooled sample of boys and girls. However, models estimated separately by sex indicate that the probability that boys consumed SSBs fell by 9.4 percentage points (11%). These are among the first estimates of the effect of SSB taxes on youth consumption and contribute to the limited evidence on the impact of SSB taxes on weight, and in non-Western countries.

The effect of soda taxes beyond beverages in Philadelphia.

Soda taxes are implemented in several cities across the United States (US) with the aim of reducing sugar intake from sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). Sugar is linked to obesity and to higher risk of diabetes and cardiovascular conditions. Sodas are targeted with these taxes since they are the main source of sugar for consumers in the US. In presence of potential substitutes, the policy can be undermined by consumers changing their sources of sugar. We examine the heterogeneous effects of the 2017 Philadelphia soda tax on purchases of other items containing sugar. We present an empirical evaluation focusing on the potential substitution toward additional sugary foods in Philadelphia and counties bordering Philadelphia. We find an increase in sugar from purchases of sweetened foods of about 4.3% following the introduction of the tax in Philadelphia and of 3.7% in the neighboring localities. The substitution to sugary foods in Philadelphia offsets 19% of the decrease of sugar from SSBs. Additionally, we find that the substitution offsets 37% of the decrease of sugar from SSBs when including counties bordering Philadelphia. These results suggest that while SSB taxes might be effective at lowering consumption of SSBs, substitution patterns may limit the effectiveness of the tax to reduce overall sugar intake.

The impact of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes on purchases: Evidence from four city-level taxes in the United States.

Since 2017, many US cities have implemented taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to decrease consumption of sugary beverages and raise revenue. We analyze household receipt data to examine the impact of taxes on households' beverage purchases in the four largest US cities with such taxes: Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and Oakland, CA. We compare changes in monthly household purchases in the treatment cities with changes in two comparison groups: (1) areas adjacent to the treatment cities or (2) a matched set of households nationally. An increase in the tax rate of 1 cent per ounce decreases household purchases of taxed beverages by 53.0 ounces per month (12.2%). This impact is consistent with a reduction in individual consumption of 5 calories per day per household member and eventual reduction in weight of 0.5 pounds. However, the decline was concentrated in Philadelphia, where the tax decreased purchases by 27.7%. There was no change in purchases of taxed beverages in the other three cities combined.

Impact of a sweetened beverage tax on beverage prices in Seattle, WA.

Seattle's Sweetened Beverage Tax is an excise tax of 1.75 cents per ounce on sugar-sweetened beverages and is one of the highest beverage taxes in the U.S. This study examined the impact of Seattle's tax on the prices of beverages. We conducted audits of 407 retail food stores and eating places (quick service restaurants and coffee shops) before and 6 months after the tax was implemented in Seattle and in a comparison area. Ordinary least squares difference-in-differences models with store fixed effects were used to estimate the effect of the tax on prices, stratified by beverage type and store type. In secondary analyses, we assessed the effect of the tax on the price of non-taxed beverages and foods. Results from the adjusted difference-in-differences models indicated the tax was associated with an average increase of 1.58 cents per ounce among Seattle retailers, representing 90 % of the price of the tax. By store type, price increases were highest in smaller grocery stores and drug stores. By beverage type, price increases were highest for energy beverages and soda and lowest for bottled coffee and juice drinks. Prices of some non-taxed beverages also increased while the prices of select healthy foods generally did not. The sweetened beverage tax in Seattle is higher than beverage taxes in most other cities, and nearly the full cost of the tax is being passed through to consumers for many beverage types and stores types.

The Untapped Power of Soda Taxes: Incentivizing Consumers, Generating Revenue, and Altering Corporate Behavior.

Globally, soda taxes are gaining momentum as powerful interventions to discourage sugar consumption and thereby reduce the growing burden of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Evidence from early adopters including Mexico and Berkeley, California, confirms that soda taxes can disincentivize consumption through price increases and raise revenue to support government programs. The United Kingdom's new graduated levy on sweetened beverages is yielding yet another powerful impact: soda manufacturers are reformulating their beverages to significantly reduce the sugar content. Product reformulation - whether incentivized or mandatory - helps reduce overconsumption of sugars at the societal level, moving away from the long-standing notion of individual responsibility in favor of collective strategies to promote health. But as a matter of health equity, soda product reformulation should occur globally, especially in low- and middleincome countries (LMICs), which are increasingly targeted as emerging markets for soda and junk food and are disproportionately impacted by NCDs. As global momentum for sugar reduction increases, governments and public health advocates should harness the power of soda taxes to tackle the economic, social, and informational drivers of soda consumption, driving improvements in food environments and the public's health.