Does a Spoonful of Sugar Levy Help the Calories Go Down? An Analysis of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy

Dickson, Alexander; Gehrsitz, Markus; Kemp, Jonathan

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3883804

Cited by 8 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Finally, dietary decisions are also dependent on the environment. For example, the sugar levy in the UK reduced soft drink consumption by 18% [31]. The study also showed that 80% of reduced calorie consumption came from producers lowering the amount of sugar, possibly leading to more exposure to drinks with less sugar.…”

Section: Wantmentioning

confidence: 87%

Theoretical Framework for Human-Like Robotic Taste with Reference to Nutritional Needs

Sochacki,

Abdulali,

Cheke

et al. 2023

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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This paper contains a theoretical framework for an intelligent robot that can feed itself with organic matter and learns to like and want certain foods. Furthermore, being tied to the onboard generation of power, the robot’s learning is grounded to physical requirements that need to be met for continued robot operation. We posit a system wherein the electrical power is generated by a microbial fuel cell(MFC), and the food value can be assessed by measuring the current generated. Interestingly, the MFC requires feed similar in many parameters to food preferred by most people with respect to parameters like salinity or pH. This property is theorized to be a good start for teaching a robotic chef human preferences. We also propose a circuit that injects additional current, simulating social cues for some foods, and effectively resulting in learning an acquired taste.

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Section: Wantmentioning

confidence: 87%

Theoretical Framework for Human-Like Robotic Taste with Reference to Nutritional Needs

Sochacki,

Abdulali,

Cheke

et al. 2023

IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng.

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“…11 The levy resulted in reductions in sugar content to avoid the levy and large price increases for products which were not reformulated. 12 Restrictions on the promotion of HFSS products, the focus of legislation currently being proposed by the Scottish and UK governments, is a further potential policy instrument. Restrictions on promotions may be particularly effective since HFSS foods tend to be purchased more frequently on promotion than healthier products.…”

Section: What This Study Addsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The recent introduction of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy by the UK Government is an example of successful innovation in this policy area, achieving a greater reduction in sugar content than achieved through voluntary agreements with the food industry 11. The levy resulted in reductions in sugar content to avoid the levy and large price increases for products which were not reformulated 12…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal study of the effects of price and promotion incentives on purchases of unhealthy foods: evidence for restricting food promotions

Kopasker

Ejebu

Norwood

et al. 2022

BMJNPH

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ObjectivesTaxes and restrictions on promotions have recently been proposed as policy instruments to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods. The objective of this study is to add to the limited evidence on the comparative effectiveness of price changes, price promotions and volume promotions in changing household purchasing of unhealthy foods, using biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks as examples.DesignLongitudinal regression analysis of consumer microdata.SettingSecondary data on itemised household purchases of biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks from 2006 to 2012.ParticipantsSample of 3024 households in Scotland.Main outcome measuresChanges in the number of calories (kcal) purchased in the product category by a household caused by changes in the price for the product category, any temporary in-store price promotions and any temporary in-store volume promotions. Changes are measured at the mean, median, 25th percentile and 75th percentile of the household purchasing distribution for the full sample. Subgroup analyses were conducted by household income band and for households with and without children.ResultsBetween product categories, the scale of purchasing response to incentives varies significantly. Within product categories, the mean calories (kcal) purchased by a household are more responsive to any volume promotion than to price or any price promotion for all product categories. As the volume of items purchased increases, households are less responsive to price, less responsive to any volume promotion and more responsive to any price promotion. Statistically significant differences are observed between household income groups in their response to price and promotion incentives within the biscuits category only. In cases where statistically significant differences are observed, households with children are more responsive to promotion and price incentives than households without children.ConclusionsFor all product categories analysed (biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks), household purchasing is most responsive to any volume promotion. Therefore, assuming the response of consumers to incentives remains constant following legislation, the most effective policy instrument to reduce the calorie intake from these products may be a ban on volume promotions.

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“…If substantial reformulation activity was going on around the time the tax was implemented, then we expect to nd a positive impact of the Portuguese soda tax on the number of employees working in R&D, and potentially higher average wages. The only study, to date, that directly explores the effects of a soda tax on reformulation is Dickson et al (2021). The authors estimate that the UK soda tax reduced calorie intake from soda by around 6,500 calories per annum per resident, with more than 80% of that reduction attributable to manufacturers' reformulation activities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not so sweet: Impacts of a soda tax on producers

Gonçalves

Merenda

Santos

2023

Preprint

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Portugal introduced a sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) tax in 2017. This study uses unique administrative accounting data for all SSB producers/importers in Portugal, and an event study design with bottled water firms as the primary comparison group, to assess the causal impacts of the tax on multiple firm-level outcomes. We find a 6.8% average decrease in domestic SSB sales, vis-à-vis bottled water. The soda tax hindered SSB firms’ financial health, namely net income, ability to convert receivables into cash, and liabilities. SSB producers/importers did not decrease wages, cut jobs, or modify their workforce towards higher R&D capacity. Forgone corporate income tax appears negligible compared to the government revenue generated by the tax itself.

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Does a Spoonful of Sugar Levy Help the Calories Go Down? An Analysis of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy

Cited by 8 publications

References 31 publications

Theoretical Framework for Human-Like Robotic Taste with Reference to Nutritional Needs

Theoretical Framework for Human-Like Robotic Taste with Reference to Nutritional Needs

Longitudinal study of the effects of price and promotion incentives on purchases of unhealthy foods: evidence for restricting food promotions

Not so sweet: Impacts of a soda tax on producers

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