Policy Lessons from Health Taxes: A Systematic Review of Empirical Studies

While food pricing is a promising strategy to improve diet, the prospective impact of food pricing on diet has not been systematically quantified. This analysis quantified the prospective effect of changes in food prices on dietary consumption through a systematic review of interventional or prospective observational studies of price change and diet. In general, results supported the efficacy of subsidies to increase consumption of healthful foods, and taxation to reduce intake of unhealthful beverages and…

This econometric and comparative risk assessment modelling study evaluated the overall and income specific effect of a 20% tax on sugar sweetened drinks on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the UK.  Results showed that a 20% tax on sugar sweetened drinks was estimated to reduce the number of obese adults in the UK by 1.3% or 180,000 people and the number who are overweight by 0.9% or 285,000 people. The predicted reductions in prevalence…

Sugar-sweetened beverages are a major contributor to the U.S. obesity and diabetes epidemics. This analyses leveraged a published simulation model to examine the potential impact on health and health spending of a nationwide penny-per-ounce excise tax on these beverages.  The analysis found that the tax would reduce consumption of these beverages by 15 percent among adults ages 25-64. Over the period 2010-20, the tax was estimated to prevent 2.4 million diabetes person-years, 95,000 coronary heart…