Public Attitudes and Support for a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax in America’s Heartland

Abstract

Messaging that focuses on the role of the environment in creating opportunities for health may be useful in framing discussions around SSB taxes.

Public Support for the Imposition of a Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and the Determinants of Such Support in Spain

“…13 The differences observed by social class and income level (less support for the tax at the lowest levels), a finding in line with the results of other 23 (though not all) 33 studies, disappeared when adjustment was made for other socio-demographic variables. Similarly, no differences were found by age or educational level, which were indeed observed in other 18,19,26 (though, yet again, not all) 29 studies. As in other studies, attribution of obesity to the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and addiction to food was linked to greater support for the tax.…”

“…As in other studies, attribution of obesity to the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and addiction to food was linked to greater support for the tax. 18,21,31,42 Backing for the tax was also higher among those who attributed obesity to environmental causes, such as the price of foods, a finding along similar lines to that observed in the US 26 and German populations. 25…”

“…This is the first study to analyse the opinions of a representative sample of the Spanish adult population about the imposition of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The proposed tax received majority support (66.9% of the sample), and higher than that observed in countries such as France (57.7%), 29 the USA (40%), 26 Germany 25 and Australia (48%). 30 Only one recent survey in the United Kingdom (UK) showed itself more favourable to this type of tax, with 70% in support, 31 though at the time the UK survey was carried out, the tax had already been announced by the Government, and support for such measures is known to increase after their implementation.…”

“…23 In such a context, it is no surprise that support for the tax would in great part depend on political ideology, with less backing from participants who profess centre-leaning and rightwing political affiliations, a finding in line with the results of other studies. 17,19,21,26,41,42 As in the UK 31 and Australia, 30 support for the tax was lower among regular consumers of sugarsweetened beverages, the main segment affected by the measure, given that there is a tendency for greater support to be given to restrictive interventions aimed at the behaviour patterns of others rather than of oneself. 13 The differences observed by social class and income level (less support for the tax at the lowest levels), a finding in line with the results of other 23 (though not all) 33 studies, disappeared when adjustment was made for other socio-demographic variables.…”

A multi-country survey of public support for food policies to promote healthy diets: Findings from the International Food Policy Study

“…Many of these studies also examined the relationship between the demographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, education) of individuals and policy support; however, the direction and significance of these relationships differed both between policies and between studies. Most prior studies were conducted within individual countries including Canada [14], France [15], the United Kingdom (UK) [16], Australia [17,18], Netherlands [19], and the United States (US) [20][21][22], or within the European Union [11,12,23]. Thus, it is largely unknown how the social and political environment within each country influences public support, and whether location may contribute to the conflicting findings in previous studies.…”