Adherence
The implementation of a tiered Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) in the UK accelerated the reformulation of soft drinks, resulting in a 30% reduction in per capita sugar sales from 2015 to 2018.
Government policies that financially penalize high-sugar products (like the UK's Soft Drinks Industry Levy) effectively drive manufacturers to reformulate their recipes. This results in a significant, measurable decrease in the amount of sugar available to consumers, demonstrating that fiscal policy can successfully alter industry behavior and public health outcomes.
The rate of change accelerated between 2017 and 2018, which also implies that the implementation of the SDIL acted as an extra incentive for companies to reformulate above and beyond what was already being done as part of voluntary commitments to reformulation, or changes in sales driven by consumer preferences.
Why this rating
High-quality observational data linking sales volumes to nutrient composition across the entire market, though causality is inferred from temporal trends rather than a randomized controlled trial.
Source
Reductions in sugar sales from soft drinks in the UK from 2015 to 2018
Lauren Bandy et al. · BMC Medicine · 2020
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