Impact of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax two-year post-tax implementation in Seattle, Washington, United States

Powell, Lisa M.; Leider, Julien

doi:10.1057/s41271-021-00308-8

Cited by 33 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The result in this study of a significant sustained increase in volume sold of beer following the implementation of the Seattle SBT suggests that SSBs and beer are substitutes. Drawing on previous estimates that the Seattle SBT led to an estimated 20% increase in taxed SSB prices [ 27 ], the back-of-the envelope implied cross-price elasticity of demand between SSBs and beer is 0.35 at two-years post-tax. The result from this study that SSBs and beer are found to be substitutes is consistent with previous results based on a demand system which estimated a cross-price elasticity between SSBs and beer of 0.25 [ 24 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The data used in this study are universal product code (UPC)-level retail scanner data obtained from Nielsen on weekly units and dollar amounts sold of alcoholic beer (defined to include flavored malt beverages and ciders) and wine beverages in grocery, drug, convenience, dollar, and mass merchandise stores, and supermarkets in the intervention site of Seattle, Washington, and the comparison site of Portland, Oregon. These data are from the same source as those previously used to examine the impact of the Seattle SBT on non-alcoholic beverages and are described in more detail elsewhere [ 12 , 27 ]. As described previously, Portland was chosen as the comparison site out of eight municipalities, including the four largest municipalities in both Washington and Oregon, based on Mahalanobis distance matching on key sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics, including population size, median household income, the percentage of the population below 125% of the poverty line, the percentage that was non-Hispanic black or Hispanic, and the percentage that was non-Hispanic Asian [ 12 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous analyses of the $0.0175 per ounce Seattle, Washington, Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT), which was implemented on January 1, 2018, found that at both one-year and two-years post-implementation the volume sold of taxed beverages fell by 22% with no offset from cross-border shopping, and that there was some moderate substitution to untaxed non-alcoholic beverages, of which volume sold increased by 4% at one-year post-tax and by 5% at two-years post-tax [ 12 , 27 ]. This study extends that work to examine one- and two-year post-tax implementation changes in volume sold of alcoholic beverages (beer and wine) in the same set of stores (supermarkets and grocery, drug, convenience, dollar, and mass merchandise stores).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax on substitution to alcoholic beverages

Powell

Leider²

2022

PLoS ONE

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Introduction Taxes are increasingly used as a policy tool aimed at reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), given their association with adverse health outcomes including type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. However, a potential unintended consequence of such a policy could be that the tax induces substitution to alcoholic beverages. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the $0.0175 per ounce Seattle, Washington, Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) on volume sold of alcoholic beverages. Methods A difference-in-differences estimation approach was used drawing on universal product code-level food store scanner data on beer (N = 1059) and wine (N = 2655) products one-year pre-tax (February-November, 2017) and one and two-years post-tax (February-November, 2018 and 2019) with Portland, Oregon, as the comparison site. Results At two-years post-tax implementation, volume sold of beer in Seattle relative to Portland increased by 7% (ratio of incidence rate ratios [RIRR] = 1.07, 95% CI:1.00,1.15), whereas volume sold of wine decreased by 3% (RIRR = 0.97, 95% CI:0.95,1.00). Overall alcohol (both beer and wine) volume sold increased in Seattle compared to Portland by 4% (RIRR = 1.04, 95% CI:1.01,1.07) at one-year post-tax and by 5% (RIRR = 1.05, 95% CI:1.00,1.10) at two-years post-tax. The implied SSB cross-price elasticities of demand for beer and wine, respectively, were calculated to be 0.35 and -0.15. Conclusions There was evidence of substitution to beer following the implementation of the Seattle SSB tax. Continued monitoring of potential unintended outcomes related to the implementation of SSB taxes is needed in future tax evaluations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax on substitution to alcoholic beverages

Powell

Leider²

2022

PLoS ONE

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“…Thus, even though emerging evidence suggests that SSB taxation may be an effective policy tool, it is crucial to understand the longer-term potential of taxation in terms of behavior change and the differential impact on low-income households [ 20 ]. Studies of purchasing in Oakland [ 21 ] and Seattle [ 22 ] found that the effect of the tax persisted two years afterward. As people switch away from SSBs subject to a tax, what will they purchase instead?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…How can the specific details of the tax (e.g., the size of the tax and the beverage subtypes targeted by the tax) influence consumer behavior? Some evidence suggests that consumers do indeed switch to non-taxed beverages [ 22 , 23 ] as well as engaging in cross-border shopping [ 24 ]. The latter, a particular problem for taxes at the city level, would tend to dampen the effect of the tax.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes by Household Income: A Multi-City Comparison of Nielsen Purchasing Data

Barker

Mazzucca

2022

Nutrients

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Due to the role that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) play in the obesity epidemic, SSB taxes have been enacted in the United States in the California cities of Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, as well as in Boulder, Philadelphia, and Seattle. We pooled five years of Nielsen Consumer Panel and Retail Scanner Data (2014–18) to examine purchasing behaviors in and around these cities that have instituted SSB taxes. We included households that were either subject to the tax during the study period or were in surrounding areas within the same state. The goal was to test for the differential impact of SSB taxes by income level and type of tax. Multivariate analyses of beverage purchases found that (1) there is a dose–response relationship with the size of the SSB tax; (2) the Philadelphia tax, which is the only one that includes low-calorie beverages, is associated with greater reductions in SSB purchases and an increase in bottled water purchase; and (3) approximately 72% of the tax is passed through to consumers, but this does not vary by income level of the household. Few income-related effects were detected. Overall, our findings suggest that the Philadelphia model may be the most effective at encouraging healthy habits in beverage choice.

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Evaluation of Changes in Prices and Purchases Following Implementation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes Across the US

Kaplan,

White,

Madsen

et al. 2024

JAMA Health Forum

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ImportanceSugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are promoted as key policies to reduce cardiometabolic diseases and other conditions, but comprehensive analyses of SSB taxes in the US have been difficult because of the absence of sufficiently large data samples and methods limitations.ObjectiveTo estimate changes in SSB prices and purchases following SSB taxes in 5 large US cities.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsIn this cross-sectional study with an augmented synthetic control analysis, changes in prices and purchases of SSBs were estimated following SSB tax implementation in Boulder, Colorado; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Oakland, California; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, California. Changes in SSB prices (in US dollars) and purchases (volume in ounces) in these cities in the 2 years following tax implementation were estimated and compared with control groups constructed from other cities. Changes in adjacent, untaxed areas were assessed to detect any increase in cross-border purchases. Data used for this analysis spanned from January 1, 2012, to February 29, 2020, and were analyzed between June 1, 2022, and September 29, 2023.Main Outcomes and MeasuresThe main outcomes were the changes in SSB prices and volume purchased.ResultsUsing nutritional information, 5500 unique universal product codes were classified as SSBs, according to tax designations. The sample included 26 338 stores—496 located in treated localities, 1340 in bordering localities, and 24 502 in the donor pool. Prices of SSBs increased by an average of 33.1% (95% CI, 14.0% to 52.2%; P &lt; .001) during the 2 years following tax implementation, corresponding to an average price increase of 1.3¢ per oz and a 92% tax pass-through rate from distributors to consumers. SSB purchases declined in total volume by an average of 33.0% (95% CI, −2.2% to −63.8%; P = .04) following tax implementation, corresponding to a −1.00 price elasticity of demand. The observed price increase and corresponding volume decrease immediately followed tax implementation, and both outcomes were sustained in the months thereafter. No evidence of increased cross-border purchases following tax implementation was found.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study, SSB taxes led to substantial, consistent declines in SSB purchases across 5 taxed cities following price increases associated with those taxes. Scaling SSB taxes nationally could yield substantial public health benefits.

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Impact of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax two-year post-tax implementation in Seattle, Washington, United States

Cited by 33 publications

References 24 publications

Impact of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax on substitution to alcoholic beverages

Impact of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax on substitution to alcoholic beverages

The Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes by Household Income: A Multi-City Comparison of Nielsen Purchasing Data

Evaluation of Changes in Prices and Purchases Following Implementation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes Across the US

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