Background
Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages including nondiet sodas, sport drinks, and
energy drinks has been linked with obesity. Recent state and local efforts to tax
these beverages have been unsuccessful. Enactment will be unlikely without public
support, yet little research is available to assess how to effectively make the case
for such taxes.
Purpose
The objectives were to assess public opinion about arguments used commonly in tax
debates regarding sugar-sweetened beverages and to assess differences in public opinion
by respondents' political party affiliation.
Methods
A public opinion survey was fielded in January–March 2011 using a probability-based
sample of respondents from a large, nationally representative online panel to examine
public attitudes about nine pro- and eight anti-tax arguments. These data were analyzed
in August 2011.
Results
Findings indicated greater public agreement with anti- than pro-tax arguments. The
most popular anti-tax argument was that a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is arbitrary
because it does not affect consumption of other unhealthy foods (60%). A majority
also agreed that such taxes were a quick way for politicians to fill budget holes
(58%); an unacceptable intrusion of government into people's lives (53.8%); opposed
by most Americans (53%); and harmful to the poor (51%). No pro-tax arguments were
endorsed by a majority of the public. Respondents reported highest agreement with
the argument that sugar-sweetened beverages were the single largest contributor to
obesity (49%) and would raise revenue for obesity prevention (41%).
Conclusions
Without bolstering public support for existing pro-tax messages or developing alternative
pro-tax messages, enacting such policies will be difficult. Message-framing studies
could be useful in identifying promising strategies for persuading Americans that
taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages are warranted.
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Niederdeppe J, Gollust SE, Barry CL. News coverage of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes: pro- and anti-tax arguments in public discourse. Am J Public Health: In press.
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© 2013 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Talking About Sugar Sweetened–Beverage Taxes: Will Actions Speak Louder Than Words?American Journal of Preventive MedicineVol. 44Issue 2
- PreviewIn this issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Colleen Barry and her colleagues1 present results from a national public opinion survey assessing the level of support for arguments commonly used in public debate about instituting taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. Many in public health want to learn what will persuade the public to support taxing sugary beverages because they are eager to mimic the success in tobacco control, where increasing excise taxes on cigarettes is the single most effective way to reduce consumption, especially among youth.
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