A new analysis led by a researcher from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggests taxing sweetened beverages by the amount of sugar they contain rather than by liquid volume, as some cities currently do. The authors argue that such a tax would cause U.S. adults to consume 2.3 fewer grams of sugar per day from sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) than they would under a volumetric tax, helping the average adult lose an additional 0.7 pounds. As a result, they write, obesity rates in the U.S. would drop by an additional 630,000 adults, and 11,000 fewer people per year would develop diabetes.
Anna Grummon, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Population and Development Studies, was first author of the study, published September 6, 2019 in Science.
Despite their different sugar content and resulting different harms, all sugar-sweetened beverages are taxed at the same rate per liter under a volumetric tax,” the authors write. “This tax structure gives consumers no incentive to substitute from high-sugar to low-sugar SSBs, even though the latter are less harmful. Thus, while a volumetric tax reduces consumption of SSBs in general, it does not provide the maximum possible health benefits.”
Read NYU press release: Taxing Sweetened Drinks by the Amount of Sugar Could Cut Obesity & Boost Economic Gains
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Soda makers fight taxes on sugary beverages, try to downplay health risks (Harvard Chan School news)