Study: Soda tax could bring health, economic benefits
BALTIMORE — If a tax on soda and other sugary drinks were implemented in Baltimore it could bring in $25.6 million to go toward health programs and help reduce rates of diabetes and obesity, according to new research by Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The researchers looked at the impact an excise tax on sugary beverages would have on 15 major cities and said that all would see significant health and economic benefits. The study was commissioned by Healthy Food America, a proponent of such taxes.
“We are hoping that by showing the potential significance of this, more people will consider a tax in their communities,” said Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America.
The study brought criticism from the beverage and retail industries who have lobbied against such taxes across the country.
Such a tax in places such as Mexico, Arkansas and West Virginia had little impact on health outcomes, said Ellen Valentino, executive vice president of the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Beverage Association. Arkansas and West Virginia have long-standing soda taxes, yet they consistently rank among the states with the highest rates of obesity, she said.
The beverage industry has its own efforts to help reduce the negative health impact of sugary beverages through a program called the Balance Calories Initiative, which aims to reduce beverage calories consumed per person nationally by 20 percent by 2025. The country’s leading beverage companies are doing this by posting the caloric content of specific drinks where sugary beverages are sold, and encouraging families to become more active, among other measures.
“While we may disagree with some in the public health community on taxes, we all share the same goal of improved public health,” Valentino said.
The Harvard scientists created a computer microsimulation model for each city using data from the U.S. Census, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention programs that assesses the health of Americans. A onecent-per-ounce excise tax was used in the model for each state. Excise taxes are collected by the distributor and often passed on to consumers in higher drink prices.
In Baltimore, such a tax would result in a 6 percent decline in the rates of diabetes, 4,950 fewer cases of obesity, and $31.6 million in health care costs savings over a decade, the researchers said.
The report comes as taxes on sugary sodas and drinks are slowing gaining traction in public opinion and winning support among some policymakers.
Five U.S. cities adopted such taxes this year: Philadelphia; Boulder, Colo.; and San Francisco, Oakland and Albany in California. Cook County in Illinois also adopted a tax. Berkeley became the first in 2014.
The researchers project that the tax would raise prices on sugary drinks by 16.3 percent and in turn drop soda consumption by 20 percent.
“Once people start realizing they are spending so much on something that is not really good for them, people are shifting to other beverages,” said lead researcher Steve Gortmaker.
The 15 cities the report analyzed were: Baltimore; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Detroit; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Fla.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Louisville, Ky.; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; San Diego; San Jose, Calif.; and Seattle.
Retailers worry that soda taxes could hurt business.
“The fact of the matter is that taxes on common grocery items don’t make people healthier just poorer,” said Cailey Locklair Tolle, president of the Maryland Retailers Association. “Baltimore City needs to focus on attracting and retaining the current grocery stores, not on a policy that will chase retailer sales and jobs to surrounding jurisdictions.”