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The Effects of Soft Drink Taxes on Child and Adolescent Consumption and Weight Outcomes

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  • Jason Fletcher
  • David Frisvold

    ()

  • Nathan Tefft

Abstract

Childhood and adolescent obesity is associated with serious lifetime health consequences and has seen a recent rapid increase in prevalence. Soft drink consumption has also expanded rapidly, so much so that soft drinks are currently the largest single contributors to energy intake. In this paper, we investigate the potential for soft drink taxes to combat rising levels of adolescent obesity through a reduction in consumption. Our results, based on state soft drink sales and excise tax information between 1988 and 2006 and the National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey, suggest that soft drink taxation, as currently practiced in the United States, leads to a moderate reduction in soft drink consumption by children and adolescents. However, we show that this reduction in soda consumption is completely offset by increases in consumption of other high calorie drinks.

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Paper provided by Department of Economics, Emory University (Atlanta) in its series Emory Economics with number 0908.

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Date of creation: Aug 2009
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Handle: RePEc:emo:wp2003:0908

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Cited by:
  1. Colantuoni, Francesca & Rojas, Christian, 2012. "Have soda sales tax effects changed over time? Scanner data comparison analyses," 2012 Annual Meeting, August 12-14, 2012, Seattle, Washington 124806, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
  2. Papoutsi, Georgia & Drichoutis, Andreas & Nayga, Rodolfo, 2011. "The causes of childhood obesity: A survey," MPRA Paper 30992, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  3. Kaisa Kotakorpi & Pirjo Pietinen & Jukka Pirttila & Heli Reinivuo & Ilpo Suoniemi, 2012. "The Welfare Effects of Health-Based Food Tax Policy," Discussion Papers 81, Aboa Centre for Economics.
  4. Javier Rivas & Miguel Flores, 2011. "Cash Incentives and Unhealthy Food Consumption," Discussion Papers in Economics 11/47, Department of Economics, University of Leicester, revised Jan 2012.
  5. Guy E.J. Faulkner & Paul Grootendorst & Van Hai Nguyen & Tatiana Andreyeva & Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos & Chris Auld & Sean B. Cash & John Cawley & Peter Donnelly & Adam Drewnowski & Laurette Dubé & R, 2011. "Economic Instruments for Obesity Prevention: Results of a Scoping Review and Modified Delphi Survey," Monash Economics Working Papers 31-11, Monash University, Department of Economics.
  6. Bonnet, Céline & Réquillart, Vincent, 2011. "Tax incidence with strategic firms on the soft drink market," TSE Working Papers 11-233, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Jul 2012.

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