September 9, 2019 — Reducing the intake of sugary drinks is presently quite important to many public health advocates. Taxes on sweet drinks are one effective way to do this. And advocates are convinced that the result will be better health – less obesity and less diabetes. But it’s worth asking: what will take the place of those sugary […]
September 8, 2019 — “The evidence is stacking up,” say Susan Jebb and Theresa Marteau. Sugary drink taxes have been so successful in the UK that the time has come to move on and tax chocolates, biscuits, and cake. And they have a modeling study to prove it. In just one year, a 20 percent tax on sugary snacks […]
June 3, 2018 — On Friday, an independent panel advising the World Health Organization backed away from a recommendation for taxing sugar to reduce obesity. Pakistan’s former health minister, Sania Nishtar, co-chaired the WHO Independent High-Level Commission on Noncommunicable diseases. She explained what happened: The reason behind the opposition of one commissioner in particular was with regard to the strength […]
January 31, 2018 — Resistance to public health policies is the reason that obesity is growing relentlessly. Especially resistance to a sugar tax. That deadpan comment from a health and obesity expert is impressive, opinionated speculation. It came at a recent roundtable of experts to explore strategies for reducing obesity. And the pitch is working. All over the world, […]
January 19, 2018 — Call it “a modest proposal” if you like. But the authors probably don’t intend this to be satire. Writing in the American Journal of Public Health, Jennifer Pomeranz and colleagues tell us that we can tax junk food all across America anytime we want to. They offer a wry conclusion. “Political feasibility in the current political […]
October 11, 2017 — The soda tax we barely knew in Chicago is fading into history. Big soda is celebrating a win. Big soda haters are nursing their wounds. In the face of intense public pressure yesterday, the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to roll back the county’s tax scheme on December 1. It only went into effect […]
January 27, 2017 — Here’s an unusual comparison. It contrasts the value of two different options for childhood obesity: a tax on sugary beverages versus bariatric surgery for adolescents. Steven Gortmaker and colleagues published this analysis in Health Affairs. Gortmaker presented the data yesterday in Washington, DC. Calling this an apples and oranges comparison would be generous. The basis for this comparison has two dimensions. First […]
