Fiscal policies can shift relative food prices to encourage the purchase and consumption of minimally processed foods while discouraging the purchase and consumption of unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, high in calories and nutrients of concern (sodium, sugar, and saturated fats), especially for low-income households. The 2017–2018 packaged food purchase data among U.S. households were used to More
Keywords: Snacks, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
In 2017, Philadelphia enacted a $0.015 per ounce excise tax on SBs that covered both sugar-sweetened beverages and artificially-sweetened beverages, which reduced purchasing and consumption. This study assessed whether the tax also changed beverage advertising or stocking practices that could influence consumer behavior among stores in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Philadelphia-adjacent counties not subject to the More
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
This study will compile sales tax rates for water filter pitchers, comparably priced faucet-mounted filters and replacement filter cartridges. One legal researcher will conduct primary legal research of state law for all fifty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico using the legal databases Westlaw and LexisNexis. Tax rates will be verified by changing More
Date: July 2023
Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary
Focus Areas: Beverages Pricing & Economics
Taxing sweetened beverages has emerged as an important and effective policy for addressing their overconsumption. However, taxes may place a greater economic burden on people with lower incomes. We assess the degree to which sweetened beverage taxes in three large U.S. cities placed an inequitable burden on populations with lower incomes by assessing spending on More
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
The purpose of this analysis is to provide useful guidance to policymakers and advocates regarding sweetened beverage tax (SBT) allocation and dedication. The specific aims are to: 1) collect all state SBT bills proposed in the United States in the past ten years, and all adopted local laws along with a representative set of proposed More
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
Date: September 2021
Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary
Focus Areas: Beverages Pricing & Economics
This study aimed to test for racial/ethnic differences in perceived argument strength in favor of structural interventions to curb childhood obesity among lower-income parents of young children. Study participants were parents of children (age 0-5 years) with an annual income <$40,000, stratified by White, Black and/or Latinx race/ethnicity. Race/ethnicity was not a significant predictor of More
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
The purpose of this study is to conduct a discrete choice experiment to investigate whether warning labels on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) alter the effectiveness of a tax on SSBs, especially among parents who are Black, Latinx and lower income. The research team will conduct an online choice experiment with 2,700 parents and caregivers of children More
Keywords: Front-of-package labeling, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
Date: April 2021
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood Pricing & Economics
The goal of this study is to provide much needed scientific evidence about whether the Philadelphia beverage tax is associate with changes in beverage availability and targeted marketing, with a focus on drinks commonly consumed by children ages 0-5 and Black and Latinx households with young children. Specific aims include: (1) Compare changes in retail More
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
Date: April 2021
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood Food Marketing Food Retail
Policymakers worldwide are considering requiring warnings for sugary drinks. A growing number of experimental studies have examined sugary drink warnings’ impacts, but no research to our knowledge has synthesized this literature. To inform ongoing policy debates, this study aimed to identify the effects of sugary drink warnings compared with control conditions. Using a comprehensive search strategy, More
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Taxes
Using economic modeling, this study seeks to advance nutritional equity by identifying ways to lower economic barriers to healthy eating among low-income households with children. This study will identify mechanisms for directing unhealthy food and beverage tax revenues towards healthy incentives, particularly through existing federally-funded, but local and state-run programs such as WIC and SNAP. More
Date: February 2020
Resource Type: Grant Summary
Focus Areas: Nutrition Policy & Programs Pricing & Economics