Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in 2018: a year of reflections and consolidation

Abstract

Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in 2018: a year of reflections and consolidation The year 2018 was undoubtedly momentous for sugarsweetened beverage (SSB) tax implementation, with the enactment of SSB taxes in nine additional jurisdictions around the world. The year was also marked by new evidence supporting the effectiveness of SSB taxes to reduce the purchase and consumption of SSB. On the other hand, industry opposition reached new heights and further global commitment to tax SSB in 2018 was minimal. But the public health agenda is consolidating and there is reason for optimism that past momentum will continue into the new year and beyond. Below we reflect on the year that was 2018 for policies to tax SSB.

Sugar-Sweetened and Diet Beverage Consumption in Philadelphia One Year after the Beverage Tax

“…Limitations notwithstanding, this study is among the first to suggest that the impact of the tax on consumption may have been more modest than anticipated. Reasons for a modest impact may be the continued low price of SSB relative to healthier beverages (such as milk and 100% vegetable juice), high availability, aggressive marketing [9][10][11]42], as well as tax avoidance (purchasing SSB from retailers within Philadelphia who chose to not raise the price of SSB or purchasing from retailers outside of Philadelphia). Taken in context with other studies, it is important to conduct further research to understand the full effects of the tax on consumption, including research in larger population-based samples across multiple cities, as well as, among high-risk sub-populations.…”

An Assessment of Three Carbohydrate Metrics of Nutritional Quality for Packaged Foods and Beverages in Australia and Southeast Asia

“…Beverages that passed the dual and modified ratios were more likely to be low or no sugar beverage variants. Recent governmental and non-governmental pressure on food manufacturers to reduce sugar in beverages may have prompted the growth of such products in the market [54][55][56]. In low or no sugar variants, soluble fibres (e.g., inulin, resistant dextrins) are commonly used in place of sugar to help compensate for the loss of bulk, mouthfeel and stability brought to beverages by sugar [52].…”

“…Recent health promotion efforts to increase awareness of the nutritional value of whole grains may increase its intake in these Asian countries in the coming years [78]. Fewer beverages in Australia also passed the dual and modified ratios compared to beverages in Southeast Asia, potentially due to newly instated sugar tax in Thailand, the Philippines and, more recently, Malaysia, which is mostly targeted at beverages [54,55]. It would be of public health interest to monitor the evolution of the overall nutritional quality of these products to validate the effectiveness of these measures to improve the holistic nutritional profile.…”

Should Australia tax sugar‐sweetened beverages?

“…In another, SSB's with especially high sugar levels which were taxed at higher rates than ordinary SSB's saw a significant 21.7% per capita reduction when under the effect of the tax . Although industry opposition around the world has increased with this momentum, so has the consolidation of the public health agenda . Nonetheless, broad consideration of the tax on global systematic level still remains absent from the international political non‐communicable diseases agenda …”

“…Although industry opposition around the world has increased with this momentum, so has the consolidation of the public health agenda . Nonetheless, broad consideration of the tax on global systematic level still remains absent from the international political non‐communicable diseases agenda …”