Also in support of the sugar tax is that we’ve seen health taxes used as a cost-effective way improve health/save lives in tobacco, alcohol, and salt. For tobacco, taxation is the most cost-effective of all the tobacco control measures. I’m not surprised to see the evidence point to a sugar tax.
Agreed! Though in terms of both evidence base and tractability, I would say tobacco > soda > salt—we’ve done a lot more tobacco taxes than SSB taxes, which in turn is far more common than sodium taxes (or taxes on high salt food). That is consequential for (a) whether we have empirical data to inform our cost-effectiveness analyses and general prioritization, and (b) whether we can persuade policymakers, who care a lot about whether other countries have done something (and successfully).
Also in support of the sugar tax is that we’ve seen health taxes used as a cost-effective way improve health/save lives in tobacco, alcohol, and salt. For tobacco, taxation is the most cost-effective of all the tobacco control measures. I’m not surprised to see the evidence point to a sugar tax.
Agreed! Though in terms of both evidence base and tractability, I would say tobacco > soda > salt—we’ve done a lot more tobacco taxes than SSB taxes, which in turn is far more common than sodium taxes (or taxes on high salt food). That is consequential for (a) whether we have empirical data to inform our cost-effectiveness analyses and general prioritization, and (b) whether we can persuade policymakers, who care a lot about whether other countries have done something (and successfully).