This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Taxing sugary drinks based on calorie amounts may encourage healthier choices
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Taxing sugary drinks based on the number of calories or the amount of sugar per liter — instead of issuing a flat tax on all sugary drinks — could result in consumers making healthier beverage choices, according to research in Social Science & Medicine.
In a study examining the taxes implemented on tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages in South Africa and Mexico, Evan Blecher, PhD, an economist and director in the International Tobacco Control Research Program for the American Cancer Society, found that the sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, which are based on beverage size, are having an impact on reduced sugary drink consumption.
“Taxing sugary drinks isn’t a new concept, but given the immediacy of the global obesity problem, it’s time we got creative with how we approach it,” Blecher said in a press release. “We could get sharper effects from taxation if we tax the dose of an ingredient, like sugar or calories.”
Blecher examined the tax structure pertaining to beer and spirits in South Africa, where the government applies an excise tax based on the volume of pure alcohol rather than on the volume of the beverage (wine has a flat tax). The dose approach to taxation has reduced consumption of beer in South Africa by 12% since 1998, when the tax system was first put in place, Blecher said. The country applies a uniform, specific tax on tobacco, and cigarette consumption has also declined, Blecher said.
The study also analyzed data from Mexico, which became the first country to introduce a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in January 2014 of one peso per liter — about 10% of the drink price.
“Early evaluation conducted shows a 10% decline in purchases of taxed beverages in the first quarter of 2014 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, and a 7% increase in untaxed beverages (including a 13% increase in plain water purchases),” Blecher wrote. “The early evidence thus suggests that the tax is working as planned.”
Blecher said similar tax structures, implemented in other countries, could both encourage healthier consumer habits and create further incentives for producers to lower doses.
“The example of South Africa is important,” Blecher wrote. “It shows that smartly designed tax structures, in addition to higher tax rates are able to bring about important public health benefits.” – by Regina Schaffer
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts