The Public Health and Economic Benefits of Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

doi:10.1056/NEJMhpr0905723

Volume 361:1599-1605		October 15, 2009		Number 16

The Public Health and Economic Benefits of Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., Thomas Farley, M.D., M.P.H., Walter C. Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., Barry M. Popkin, Ph.D., Frank J. Chaloupka, Ph.D., Joseph W. Thompson, M.D., M.P.H., and David S. Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D.

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PubMed Citation

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been linkedto risks for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease¹^,²^,³; therefore,a compelling case can be made for the need for reduced consumptionof these beverages. Sugar-sweetened beverages are beveragesthat contain added, naturally derived caloric sweeteners suchas sucrose (table sugar), high-fructose corn syrup, or fruit-juiceconcentrates, all of which have similar metabolic effects.

Taxation has been proposed as a means of reducing the intakeof these beverages and thereby lowering health care costs, aswell as a means of generating revenue that governments can usefor health programs.⁴^,⁵^,⁶^,⁷ Currently, 33 states . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Consumption Trends and Health Outcomes

Mechanisms Linking Sugar-Sweetened Beverages with Poor Health

Economic Rationale

An Effective Tax Policy and Projected Effects

Revenue-Generating Potential

Objections, Industry Reaction, Public Support, and Framing

Conclusions

Source Information

From the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University, New Haven, CT (K.D.B.); the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, City of New York, New York (T.F.); the Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health (W.C.W.), and the Optimal Weight for Life Program, Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School (D.S.L.) — all in Boston; the Department of Nutrition and the University of North Carolina Interdisciplinary Obesity Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (B.M.P.); the Department of Economics and the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Policy Center, University of Illinois, Chicago (F.J.C.); and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Surgeon General's Office, State of Arkansas, Little Rock (J.W.T.).

This article (10.1056/NEJMhpr0905723) was published on September 16, 2009, at NEJM.org.