Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of SSB Taxes for Reducing Cancer Burden in the U.S.
2019
This analysis evaluated the health outcomes, costs, and cost-effectiveness of a national sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax policy for reducing obesity-related cancer in the U.S. A probabilistic cohort state-transition model, the Diet Cancer Outcome Model (DiCOM), was used to project the effect of a national $0.01 per ounce SSB excise tax on 13 obesity-associated cancers among U.S. adults age 20 and older over their lifetime. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated using both government affordability and societal perspectives.
Results showed that the SSB tax policy would increase quality-adjusted life expectancy and prevent more than 20,000 new cancer cases and more than 10,000 cancer death, with the largest health benefits for endometrial, kidney, and liver cancer.
The SSB tax would generate $1.17 billion industry compliance costs, $1.20 billion in government implementation costs, and $5.4 billion in lifetime medical savings for the 13 types of cancer. The SSB tax was net cost saving from both a societal perspective and government affordability perspective, not including what was generated from tax revenues.
Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of SSB Taxes for Reducing Cancer Burden in the U.S.
Source:
Griecci C, Du M, Kim D et al. Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes for Reducing Cancer Burden in the United States (P22-010-19). Current Developments in Nutrition 2019; 3 (Supp 1). https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzz042.P22-010-19