Philadelphia Soda Tax Impacts Consumption
But when shoppers crave soda, they’ll cross the line.
May 16, 2019
PHILADELPHIA—Soda taxes appear to be an effective weapon in the war on obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the recent Journal of the American Medical Association, but experts say it's too early to tell if better health will be the result, U.S. News reports.
In January 2017, Philadelphia began taxing sugary and artificially sweetened drinks, and in that year, sales of those products in chain food stores dropped 38%. Christina Roberto, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, said there are many reasons to think the tax will result in health benefits over time.
“Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages is one of the most effective policies we have to reduce the purchase of these unhealthy drinks,” Roberto said. “It’s a public health no-brainer and a policy win-win.”
Two-thirds of adults nationwide are overweight, and that’s why soda taxes are catching on. Already, seven cities have them, and Connecticut and Colorado are considering a statewide tax.
Following in the footsteps of Berkeley, California, Philadelphia was the second U.S. city to tax sugary drinks. Originally, the tax (1.5 cents per ounce) was imposed to raise money for education and improvements to parks and recreation centers. Reducing consumption was only seen as a side benefit. But a year after the tax went into effect, more than one billion fewer ounces of sugary drinks—or 83 million fewer cans of soda—had been sold in Philadelphia.
Of course, the tax didn’t quench appetites completely. Soda sales in nearby cities spiked in 2016 and 2017. The study included data from 291 chain stores inside the Philadelphia city limits and located just over the city line. Between January 2016 and December 2017, sales of the taxed drinks dropped 59% at supermarkets, 40% at mass merchandisers and 13% in drugstores in Philadelphia. But tax-free sales just outside the city increased by 308.2 million ounces as devoted soda fans left town to purchase the drinks.
“It’s very hard to change people’s behaviors, because nothing in their environment is changing,” said Dr. Kristine Madsen, associate professor of public health at the University of California, Berkeley. “The effect we see with soda taxes is massive, so I really do expect that this drop in consumption will ultimately lead to significant health impacts.”
