Majority of Americans Not Sweet on Sugary Drinks Tax

Nearly 75 percent of Americans are against a proposed tax on sugary drinks; however, 51 percent said they would support a soda tax if it had the potential to decrease healthcare costs, according to results from a national online survey conducted by HCD Research.

The findings also revealed that 85 percent of respondents reported that the rise in medical costs has been moderately or highly impacted by the increase in obesity and obesity-related conditions, an increase of 9 percent from a similar study conducted last year.

A proposed sugary drinks tax has been floated in a number of states this year including California, New York and Washington just to name just a few.

In fact, a study from researchers at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital supports the theory that taxing sugary drinks will reduce soft drink consumption. Researchers implemented a 5-phase intervention at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital cafeteria. After posting existing prices of regular and diet soft drinks and water during baseline, they imposed several interventions in series: a price increase of 35 percent on regular soft drinks, a reversion to baseline prices (washout), an educational campaign, and a combination price and educational period. Sales of regular soft drinks declined by 26 percent during the price increase phase. The reduction in sales persisted throughout the study period, with an additional decline of 18 percent during the combination phase compared with the washout period. Education had no independent effect on sales.

Sources:

* HCD Research: Majority of Americans Sour on Proposed Tax for Sugary Drinks