Telling
people sugar is bad for them may not get them to cut down on the sweet
substance.
However,
making them pay more for it just might.
That’s the
overall thrust of a new study published today in the journal PLOS Medicine on a
new soda tax that’s been in effect in Berkeley, Calif., for more than two
years.
Researchers
say sales of sugar-sweetened beverages appeared to have dropped while the sales
of water have risen dramatically.
“We were
pleasantly surprised to see how much things have changed,” Dr. Lynn Silver, a
senior advisor at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, told Healthline.
Officials at
the American Beverage Association did not provide Healthline with a comment on
the research.
Read more: The skinny on soda taxes »
What
researchers found
The soda tax was approved by Berkeley voters in
November 2014.
It took
effect on Jan. 1, 2015.
The measure
charges distributors of sugar-sweetened beverages one cent per ounce on their
products.
In many
stores, that extra fee is passed on to consumers.
A panel of
health experts advises Berkeley city officials on what local programs should
receive money from the tax.
The study
authors report that as of the beginning of this year, the city had collected
$2.5 million from the soda tax.
The Public
Health Institute and the Carolina Population Center at the University of North
Carolina oversaw the study.
Researchers
studied sales of beverages in Berkeley and surrounding communities from Mar. 1,
2015 to Feb. 29, 2016.
They looked
at the prices of beverages at 26 stores in Berkeley as well as the
point-of-sale scanner data on more than 15 million beverage items at two supermarket
chains from three Berkeley stores and six stores in adjacent cities.
The
researchers also conducted a phone survey of 957 Berkeley residents.
Researchers
said their data showed sales of sugar-sweetened beverages in Berkeley dropped
more than 9 percent during the year that was studied.
They added
the sale of water increased by more than 15 percent in that same time period.
Sales of juices, teas, and other substitute beverages also went up.
They noted
that the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in nearby communities rose almost 7
percent.
Read more: Losing weight by skipping sodas »
What does
the study prove?
Silver said the
overall impression researchers got from the study was that the soda tax is
working in Berkeley.
“I think
Berkeley will be seen as a turning point,” she said.
Other
experts were also encouraged by the findings, but they did throw up some
caution flags.
“These are
positive findings and they’re encouraging,” Dr. Bruce Lee, executive director
of the Global Obesity Prevention Center at Johns Hopkins, told Healthline.
However, Lee
noted that sales of sodas did increase in neighborhoods near Berkeley,
indicating perhaps people were slipping over the city boundary to buy their
sugar-sweetened beverages.
“There may
be some bleeding out into the edges,” he said.
He was
encouraged by the increase in water sales in Berkeley, but he was curious to
see if products such as fruit juices would continue to rise.
“If the tax
changes behavior, we want to know what it’s changing to,” Lee said.
Donald
Marron, PhD, director of economic policy initiatives at the Urban Institute,
had a similar reaction.
Marron also
wondered how much of Berkeley’s soda decline was due to people driving to other
towns.
However, he
noted that tax hikes do tend to discourage consumers.
“If you
raise the price of something, people will generally buy less of it,” Marron
told Healthline.
Marron did
say there isn’t evidence yet of direct health benefits, but that’s because the
soda tax hasn’t been in place long enough.
Lee said he
expects the Berkeley tax will eventually produce health benefits.
“It can have
some downstream effects,” he said.
Silver said
she is also hopeful the tax will have an impact on conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease brought on by sugar-laden products.
“Decreasing
sugar consumption will definitely have health benefits,” she said.
Read more: America’s sugar addiction has reached epidemic
levels »
Could the
tax work in other places?
Is Berkeley
a model for other communities?
Both Marron
and Lee pointed out that Berkeley, with its population of about 115,000, is
smaller than larger metropolitan areas, but larger than many suburban and rural
communities.
In larger
towns, they said, consumers would probably be less likely to travel across city
lines to avoid a soda tax.
Silver
doesn’t think people in Berkeley are doing that now.
She said
researchers asked people during the phone survey if they were driving to other
communities and most of them said they weren’t.
Silver also
pointed out that Berkeley’s sugar consumption is about one-third of typical
communities in the United States.
She believes
a tax would have an even bigger impact in towns where soda sales are higher.
Silver did
have some tips for other communities contemplating soda surcharges.
She said the
tax should be big enough to have an impact on consumers’ wallets.
An education
on the health effects of sugar should accompany the tax.
And, Silver
said, the money collected from the tax should be spent wisely.
The post Soda Tax Appears to Be Working in Berkeley appeared first on How People Do.
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