It Turns Out That Taxing Soda Makes People Drink Less Soda
It’s too soon to tell whether a so-called “soda tax” can improve public health. But early data shows it certainly seems to lead to people drinking less soda.
Consumption of sugary drinks has declined in three places that recently started taxing soda: two cities (Berkeley, CA and Philadelphia, PA) and a country (Mexico.)
Grocers and beverage distributors in Philadelphia, which implemented a 1.5-cents-per-ounce tax on soda on this year, recently told Bloomberg that in the first few weeks their sales have slid by as much as 50%. Results in Philadelphia, the country’s fifth most populous city, could provide feedback on what impact these taxes would have on soda consumption in a major urban market.
In Berkeley, the first US city to adopt a soda tax, a 2016 survey by UC Berkeley found consumption of soda and other sugary beverages in low-income neighborhoods fell 21% after a 1-cent-per-ounce tax was rolled out in 2015.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/venessawong/its-not-rocket-science?utm_term=.cip4gjVOQ#.aaQvlPm04
It’s too soon to tell whether a so-called “soda tax” can improve public health. But early data shows it certainly seems to lead to people drinking less soda.
Consumption of sugary drinks has declined in three places that recently started taxing soda: two cities (Berkeley, CA and Philadelphia, PA) and a country (Mexico.)
Grocers and beverage distributors in Philadelphia, which implemented a 1.5-cents-per-ounce tax on soda on this year, recently told Bloomberg that in the first few weeks their sales have slid by as much as 50%. Results in Philadelphia, the country’s fifth most populous city, could provide feedback on what impact these taxes would have on soda consumption in a major urban market.
In Berkeley, the first US city to adopt a soda tax, a 2016 survey by UC Berkeley found consumption of soda and other sugary beverages in low-income neighborhoods fell 21% after a 1-cent-per-ounce tax was rolled out in 2015.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/venessawong/its-not-rocket-science?utm_term=.cip4gjVOQ#.aaQvlPm04
