Impacts of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax on the Perceived Healthfulness of Sweetened Beverages

Abstract

Sweetened beverage taxes are associated with significant reductions in the purchase of sweetened beverages. However, it is unclear whether these taxes play a role in shifting perceptions about sweetened beverages and their health impacts. We utilized pre- and post-tax survey data collected from residents in Seattle, WA, a city that implemented a sweetened beverage tax in 2018 and from residents in an untaxed comparison area. We used income-stratified difference-in-difference linear probability models to compare net changes in the perceived healthfulness of overall sweetened beverage consumption and of different types of sugary beverages over time and across income groups. We found significant increases in the percentage of Seattle respondents with lower incomes who agreed that sweetened beverage consumption raises the risk of diabetes (DD = 9 percentage points (pp) (95% CI: 5 pp, 13 pp); p = 0.002), heart disease (DD = 7 pp (95% CI: 2 pp, 12 pp); p = 0.017), and serious health problems (DD = 12 pp (95% CI: 5 pp, 19 pp); p = 0.009), above and beyond changes in the comparison area. The most prominent changes in perceived health impacts of sweetened beverages were found among lower-income Seattle respondents, while fewer changes were found among higher-income Seattle respondents. Future work could examine the relationship between exposure to pro-tax messaging and changes in consumer perceptions of sweetened beverages.

Sweetened Beverage Tax Implementation and Change in Body Mass Index Among Children in Seattle

“…Our results are less consistent with findings from our previous longitudinal cohort study of taxed beverage consumption among lower-income children in Seattle and the nearby nontaxed comparison area . In that study, we found no greater reduction in reported consumption for Seattle children vs those in the comparison area .…”

“…Our results are less consistent with findings from our previous longitudinal cohort study of taxed beverage consumption among lower-income children in Seattle and the nearby nontaxed comparison area . In that study, we found no greater reduction in reported consumption for Seattle children vs those in the comparison area . However, dietary consumption is difficult to measure, and multiple studies often have no evidence of decreases in self-reported consumption in places where substantial decreases in sweetened beverage purchasing were seen.…”

“… 29 In that study, we found no greater reduction in reported consumption for Seattle children vs those in the comparison area. 29 However, dietary consumption is difficult to measure, 30 and multiple studies often have no evidence of decreases in self-reported consumption in places where substantial decreases in sweetened beverage purchasing were seen.…”

Sugar-sweetened beverage intake and convenience store shopping as mediators of the food insecurity–Tooth decay relationship among low-income children in Washington state

“…However, there was no corresponding decrease in SSB intake directly associated with the tax [64]. Regardless, in the two-year period after the tax was enacted, support for the tax increased among low-income residents [65] and the perceived negative health impacts of SSBs increased among low-income residents [66], which suggests that SSB taxes could have positive spillover effects on the incidence of tooth decay among Seattle children. While no experimental studies have examined whether SSB taxes improve oral health, numerous simulation and model-based studies have predicted the potential public health benefits of a SSB tax on oral health outcomes [67].…”

A Detailed Study of the Point of Purchase at Big Bazaar: An Effective Management System

“…Another important factor in the retail stage's prospects in India is the rise in the number of younger runners [15]. In India, large wage packages, nuclear families at metropolitan levels, increasing working-women populations, and growing open entryways inside the organization's stage.…”