Adherence
Implementing a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) reduces consumption, leading to significant health-adjusted life year (HALY) gains and healthcare cost savings, with the greatest relative health benefits accruing to the most socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
A 20% tax on sugary drinks is projected to save the Australian healthcare system billions and add significant healthy life years, particularly for disadvantaged communities. The extra cost to consumers is small (around $35/year for the lowest income group), but the health system savings and health gains are much larger for these same groups.
A 20% SSB tax would lead to HALY gains of 175,300... and healthcare cost savings of AU$1,733 million... with 49.5% of the total health gains accruing to the 2 lowest quintiles.
Why this rating
The study is a simulation model based on Australian data and Mexican tax evaluations, not a direct randomized controlled trial of the tax itself.
Source
Modelled health benefits of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax across different socioeconomic groups in Australia: A cost-effectiveness and equity analysis
Anita Lal et al. · PLoS Medicine · 2017
DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002326
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