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Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages to Lower Childhood Obesity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Sarah A. Wetter  and
James G. Hodge Jr.
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Abstract

Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contributes to multiple health problems including obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay, especially among children. Excise taxation has been proven efficacious in changing purchasing behaviors related to tobacco use with resulting improvements in public health outcomes. Similar taxes applied to SSBs are starting to take hold internationally and domestically. SSB taxes have been proposed in over 30 U.S. jurisdictions since 2009, but only Berkeley (CA) has passed and implemented one to date. Given empirical evidence of their effectiveness, governments should consider implementation of SSB excise taxes based on uniform definitions of SSBs and other factors.

Type
Columns: Public Health and the Law
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 44 , Issue 2: Ethical and Legal Issues in Pediatrics , Summer 2016 , pp. 359 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2016

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