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. 2019 Apr;109(4):637-639.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2019.304971. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption 3 Years After the Berkeley, California, Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax

Matthew M Lee  1 , Jennifer Falbe  1 , Dean Schillinger  1 , Sanjay Basu  1 , Charles E McCulloch  1 , Kristine A Madsen  1
Affiliations

Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption 3 Years After the Berkeley, California, Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax

Matthew M Lee et al. Am J Public Health. 2019 Apr.

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate changes in sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and water consumption 3 years after an SSB tax in Berkeley, California, relative to unexposed comparison neighborhoods.

Methods: Data came from repeated annual cross-sectional beverage frequency questionnaires from 2014 to 2017 in demographically diverse Berkeley (n = 1513) and comparison (San Francisco and Oakland; n = 3712) neighborhoods. Pretax consumption (2014) was compared with a weighted average of 3 years of posttax consumption.

Results: At baseline, SSBs were consumed 1.25 times per day (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.00, 1.50) in Berkeley and 1.27 times per day (95% CI = 1.13, 1.42) in comparison city neighborhoods. When we adjusted for covariates, consumption in Berkeley declined by 0.55 times per day (95% CI = -0.75, -0.35) for SSBs and increased by 1.02 times per day (95% CI = 0.54, 1.50) for water. Changes in consumption in Berkeley were significantly different from those in the comparison group, which saw no significant changes.

Conclusions: Reductions in SSB consumption were sustained in demographically diverse Berkeley neighborhoods over the first 3 years of an SSB tax, relative to comparison cities. These persistent, longer-term reductions in SSB consumption suggest that SSB taxes are an effective policy option for jurisdictions focused on improving public health.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Adjusted Within-Group Frequencies and Between-Group Differences in Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption: Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, CA, 2014–2017
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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