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The tax is at most $0.31 per sugary drink (18 or 24 pence depending on sugar content) and it only applies to beverages. Impressive if such a small and niche tax
by standardUser 2y ago
The tax is at most $0.31 per sugary drink (18 or 24 pence depending on sugar content) and it only applies to beverages. Impressive if such a small and niche tax had that big of an impact. I imagine the raised awareness caused by passing the law did as much as the tax itself.
I spent some time in Mexico and all of the packaged foods have a big warning if they're too sugar-heavy. It instantly changed my shopping habits because it made me question foods I had taken for granted. I'd argue that's a better use of government power than a tax. The former approach requires business to bend to the public will, while the latter manipulates the public at their own expense.
- rightbyte 2y agoIt probably shifted consumption to artificially sweetened soda, right?
- robertlagrant 2y agoIt did three things: - cans of sugary drinks got smaller, to avoid the limit that was taxed, so some people bought cans with less sugar in - some people bought more artifically sweetened drinks - some people paid more for the same amount of sugar
- Moldoteck 2y agowait, so the limit/tax is not per percent mass of the final product but just overall quantity inside?
- robertlagrant 2y agoSorry - I got that wrong. They got smaller so the overall price would be the same, when the tax is included.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- standardUser 2y agoThere was also a decrease in sugary foods despite no tax (per the article) though it also says there's been a downward trend in overall sugar consumption since 2008.
- illiac786 2y agoI really dislike the expression “artificially sweetened”, it makes it sound like putting 10 or 20% sugar in a drink is “natural”… The sugar they put in is also highly processed, nothing very natural about it. Not a huge fan of the sugar alternatives, but it definitely beats sugar, which is proven to be addictive, destroys your teeth and your health in general.
- lebski88 2y agoWe've also had those macro nutrient warning flags on all packaged food for quite a few years in the UK. The sugar tax is on top of that. One of the main effects of the sugar tax was that so many manufacturers just changed their recipe to avoid having to raise prices. So the option to pay more in the shop isn't even there. Coke and Pepsi are the notable counter examples.