Český finanční a účetní časopis 2024(3):45-58 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cfuc.606

Is a sugar-sweetened beverages tax effective in reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes?

Tereza Havelková, Stanislav Klazar, Barbora Slintáková
Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, Fakulta financí a účetnictví, katedra veřejných financí, nám. W. Churchilla 4, 130 67 Praha 3

Sweetened beverages are a significant source of added sugar in the diet and thus a major risk factor for obesity and serious diseases with significant societal costs. In order to curb their consumption, special excise duties have been imposed on them in a number of countries around the world. The aim of our research was to test the effectiveness of a tax on sweetened beverages using real data on the global prevalence of type 2 diabetes. We tested a relationship between diabetes prevalence and the tax assuming that the prevalence of the disease depends on the income of the country. Our analysis revealed a statistically significant, but contrary to expectations, positive relationship between disease prevalence and the existence of tax in richer countries. This suggests that the tax on sweetened beverages is not high enough to make demand price elastic, or that we need to wait a longer time before the tax is effective, or that the decline in diabetes prevalence is not yet large enough?

Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages tax; Type 2 diabetes; Excises
JEL classification: H25, I12

Received: December 16, 2024; Revised: December 16, 2024; Accepted: December 17, 2024; Published: December 31, 2024  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Havelková, T., Klazar, S., & Slintáková, B. (2024). Is a sugar-sweetened beverages tax effective in reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes? Czech Financial and Accounting Journal, 2024(3), 45-58. doi: 10.18267/j.cfuc.606
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. ANDREYEVA, T., K. MARPLE, S. MARINELLO, T. E. MOORE a L. M. POWELL, 2022. Outcomes Following Taxation of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open. Vol. 5, No. 6, e2215276. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.15276. Go to original source...
    2. BACKHOLER, K., D. SARINK, A. BEAUCHAMP, C. KEATING, V. LOH, K. BALL, J. MARTIN a A. PETERS, 2016. The impact of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages according to socio-economic position: a systematic review of the evidence. Public health nutrition. Vol 19, iss. 17, s. 3070-3084. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001600104X. Go to original source...
    3. CABRERA ESCOBAR, M. A., J. L. VEERMAN, S. M. TOLLMAN, M. Y. BERTRAM a K. J. HOFMAN, 2013. Evidence that a tax on sugar sweetened beverages reduces the obesity rate: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. Vol. 13, 1072. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1072. Go to original source...
    4. CNOSSEN, S., 2020. Excise Taxation for Domestic Resource Mobilization. Online. CESinfo Working Paper No. 8442. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3657978. Go to original source...
    5. EMMERT-FEES, K. M. F., A. FELEA, M. STAUDIGEL, J. ANANTHAPAVAN a M. LAXY, 2024. The implications of policy modeling assumptions for the projected impact of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation on body weight and type 2 diabetes in Germany. BMC Public Health. Vol. 24, 2013. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19488-5. Go to original source...
    6. IMAMURA, F., L. O'CONNOR, Z. YE, J. MURSU, Y. HAYASHINO, S. N. BHUPATHIRAJU a N. G. FOROUHI, 2015. Consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverages, Artificially Sweetened Beverages, and Fruit Juice and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Estimation of Population Attributable Fraction. BMJ. 351:h3576. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h 3576. Go to original source...
    7. ITRIA, A., S. S. BORGES, A. E. M. RINALDI, L. B. NUCCI a C. C. ENES, 2021. Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages as a policy to reduce overweight and obesity in countries of different income classifications: a systematic review. Public Health Nutrition. Vol. 24, iss. 16, s. 5550-5560. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1017/S136 8980021002901. Go to original source...
    8. LI, X. X., et al., 2024. Increased Disease Burden of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Linked to Sugar-Sweetened Beverages. SSRN Preprint no. 5035906. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5035906. Go to original source...
    9. MALIK, V. S., a F. B. HU, 2022. The Role of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in the Global Epidemics of Obesity and Chronic Diseases. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. Vol. 18, iss. 4, s. 205-218. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00627-6. Go to original source...
    10. MANIADAKIS, N., V. KAPAKI, L. DAMIANIDI a G. KOURLABA, 2013. A systematic review of the effectiveness of taxes on nonalcoholic beverages and highin-fat foods as a means to prevent obesity trends, ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research. Vol. 5, iss. 4, s. 519-543. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S49659. Go to original source...
    11. NAKHIMOVSKY, S. S., A. B. FEIGL, C. AVILA, G. O'SULLIVAN, E. MACGREGOR-SKINNER a M. SPRANCA, 2016. Taxes on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages to Reduce Overweight and Obesity in Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE. Vol. 11, iss. 9, e0163358. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0163358. Go to original source...
    12. OECD, 2019. The Heavy Burden of Obesity: The Economics of Prevention. Paris: OECD Health Policy Studies, OECD Publishing. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1787/67450d67-en. Go to original source...
    13. PARKER, E. D., J. LIN, T. MAHONEY, N. UME, G. YANG, R. A. GABBAY, N. A. ELSAYED a R. R. BANNURU, 2024. Economic costs of diabetes in the US in 2022. Diabetes Care. Vol. 47, iss. 1, s. 26-43. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.2337/dci23-0085. Go to original source...
    14. PEÑALVO, J. L., 2024. The impact of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages on diabetes: a critical review. Diabetologia. Vol. 67, s. 420-429. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-023-06064-6. Go to original source...
    15. PEÑALVO, J. L., et al. 2017. The potential impact of food taxes and subsidies on cardiovascular disease and diabetes burden and disparities in the United States. BMC Medicine. Vol. 15, 208. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0971-9. Go to original source...
    16. POPKIN, B. M., a S. W. NG, 2021. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes: Lessons to date and the future of taxation. PLoS Medicine. Vol. 18, iss. 1, e1003412. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003412. Go to original source...
    17. POWELL, L. M., J. F. CHIRQUI, T. KHAN, R. WADA a F. J. CHALOUPKA, 2013. Assessing the potential effectiveness of food and beverage taxes and subsidies for improving public health: a systematic review of prices, demand and body weight outcomes. Obesity reviews. Vol. 14, iss. 2, s. 110-128. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12002. Go to original source...
    18. RITCHIE, H., a E. MATHIEU, 2023. How many people die and how many are born each year? Online. Our World in Data. Dostupné z: https://ourworldindata.org/births-and-deaths. [citováno 2023-02-10].
    19. RITCHIE, H., a M. ROSER, 2017. Obesity. Online. Our World in Data. Dostupné z: https://ourworldindata.org/obesity. [citováno 2023-09-30].
    20. SÁNCHEZ-ROMERO, L. M., J. PENKO, P. G. COXSON, A. FERNÁNDEZ, A. MASON, A. E. MORAN, L. ÁVILA-BURGOS, M. ODDEN, S. BARQUERA a K. BIBBINS-DOMINGO, 2016. Projected impact of Mexico's sugar-sweetened beverage tax policy on diabetes and cardiovascular disease: a modeling study. PLoS medicine. Vol. 13, iss. 11, e1002158. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.p med.1002158. Go to original source...
    21. THOW, A. M., S. DOWNS a J. STEPHEN, 2014. A systematic review of the effectiveness of food taxes and subsidies to improve diets: Understanding the recent evidence. Nutrition Reviews. Vol. 72, iss. 9, s. 551-565. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1111/nure.12123. Go to original source...
    22. WORLD BANK, 2024. World Bank Country and Lending Groups. Online. Dostupné z: https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519. [citováno 2024-03-27].
    23. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2023a. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) taxation. The Global database on the Implementation of Food and Nutrition Action (GIFNA). Online. Dostupné z: https://gifna.who.int/summary/SSBtax. [citováno 2023-09-30].
    24. WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, 2023B. Global report on the use of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes, 2023. Online. Dostupné z: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240084995. [citováno 2024-10-30]
    25. WORLD OBESITY FEDERATION, 2022. The Economic Impact of Overweight & Obesity. Online. 2nd Edition with Estimates for 161 Countries. https://data.worldobesity.org/publications/. [citováno 2023-10-04].
    26. WORLD OBESITY FEDERATION, 2023. Global obesity observatory. Online. Dostupné z: https://data.worldobesity.org/. [citováno 2023-09-30].
    27. WRIGHT A., K. E. SMITH a M. HELLOWELL, 2017. Policy lessons from health taxes: a systematic review of empirical studies. BMC Public Health. Vol. 17, 583. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4497-z. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content