Should More Cities Increase Taxes on Sugary Drinks?
What do you think?
Many heavily sweetened beverages have little to no nutritional value and contribute to obesity and chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes. One way to stem the flow appears to simply make them more costly by increasing taxes on sugary drinks. A review of restrictions by five US cities published in JAMA Health Forum showed that hiking the cost of sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas, sports drinks and canned coffees by an average of 31%, through higher taxes, led to a 33% drop in purchases of the drinks. Investigators said that for every 1% increase in price, there was a 1% reduction in purchases of the products. These effects were seen quickly after the taxes went into effect and were lasting. This illustrates that consumers may change their consumption patterns in response to price changes. The health impact, if any, of this drop in sales was not studied.
Do you support such food and beverage taxes to steer people away from unhealthy purchases? Should more US jurisdictions implement these so-called ‘soda taxes’? Do you believe taxes on sugary drinks are unproductive and infringe on our rights to make decisions on what drinks we buy? Should there be government initiatives to make fruits and vegetables less expensive so people buy more of them? Share your comments below.
See also: Time for Stronger Warnings About High-Sugar Drinks?
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
