Influence of the San Francisco, CA, Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Health Warning on Consumer Reactions: Implications for Equity from a Randomized Experiment

Objectives. To examine how much sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise taxes increased SSB retail prices in Oakland and San Francisco, California. Methods. We collected pretax (April–May 2017) and posttax (April–May 2018) retail prices of SSBs and non-SSBs from 155 stores in Oakland, San Francisco, and comparison cities. We analyzed data using difference-in-differences high-dimensional fixed-effects regressions, weighted by regional beverage sales. Results. Across all beverage sizes, the weighted average price of SSBs increased by 0.92 cents per ounce (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.28, 1.56) in Oakland and 1.00 cents per ounce (95% CI = 0.35, 1.65) in San Francisco, compared with prices in untaxed cities. The tax did not significantly alter prices of water, 100% juice, or milk of any size examined. Diet soda only, among non-SSBs, exhibited a higher price increase for some sizes in taxed cities. Conclusions. Within 4 to 10 months of implementation, Oakland’s and San Francisco’s SSB excise taxes significantly increased SSB retail prices by approximately the amount of the taxes, a key mechanism for reducing consumption.

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Employment impacts of the San Francisco sugar-sweetened beverage tax 2 years after implementation

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0252094 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. e0252094

Author(s):

Samantha Marinello ◽

Julien Leider ◽

Lisa M. Powell

Keyword(s):

Labor Market ◽

Private Sector ◽

San Francisco ◽

Employment Outcomes ◽

Grocery Stores ◽

Control Analysis ◽

Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽

Sweetened Beverage ◽

Synthetic Controls ◽

The Impact

Introduction Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes have been implemented worldwide to raise revenue and reduce consumption of SSBs, which is associated with health harms. Empirical evaluations have found that these taxes are successful at reducing demand for SSBs; however, SSB taxes face opposition, in part because of claims that they will lead to substantial job losses. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the San Francisco SSB tax, implemented on January 1st, 2018, on employment. Methods Monthly employment counts were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from January 2013 (5-years pre-tax) through December 2019 (2-years post-tax) for the overall economy, private sector, supermarkets and other grocery stores, convenience stores, limited-service restaurants, and beverage manufacturing. A synthetic control analysis was conducted for each employment outcome. The synthetic controls (i.e., estimated counterfactuals) were generated from a pool of urban control counties using pre-tax labor market-related characteristics. Results The synthetic controls had similar labor market-related characteristics and employment outcomes to those in San Francisco in the pre-tax period. Up to 2 years post-tax, differences in employment between San Francisco and the synthetic controls were small and not “statistically significant” based on placebo tests for all employment outcomes. Conclusions Up to two years post-tax, we do not find evidence that the San Francisco SSB tax negatively impacted net employment, employment in the private sector, or employment in specific SSB-related industries.

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Text Messages to Curb Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption among Pregnant Women and Mothers: A Mobile Health Randomized Controlled Trial

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13124367 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 4367

Author(s):

Jennifer A. Woo Baidal ◽

Kelsey Nichols ◽

Nalini Charles ◽

Lauren Chernick ◽

Ngoc Duong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pregnant Women ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Sugar Content ◽

Text Messages ◽

Warning Labels ◽

Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽

Health Warning ◽

Sweetened Beverage ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Content Information

Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in childhood obesity in the United States (U.S.) originate in early life. Maternal sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is an early life risk factor for later offspring obesity. The goal of this study was to test the effects of policy-relevant messages delivered by text messages mobile devices (mHealth) on maternal SSB consumption. In this three-arm 1-month randomized controlled trial (RCT), pregnant women or mothers of infants in predominantly Hispanic/Latino New York City neighborhoods were randomized to receive one of three text message sets: graphic beverage health warning labels, beverage sugar content information, or attention control. The main outcome was change in maternal self-reporting of average daily SSB consumption from baseline to one month. Among 262 participants, maternal SSB consumption declined over the 1-month period in all three arms. No intervention effect was detected in primary analyses. In sensitivity analyses accounting for outliers, graphic health warning labels reduced maternal SSB consumption by 28 kcal daily (95% CI: −56, −1). In this mHealth RCT among pregnant women and mothers of infants, graphic health warning labels and beverage sugar content information did not reduce maternal SSB consumption.

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How should sugar-sweetened beverage health warnings be designed? A randomized experiment

Preventive Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.02.010 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 121 ◽

pp. 158-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Anna H. Grummon ◽

Marissa G. Hall ◽

Lindsey Smith Taillie ◽

Noel T. Brewer

Keyword(s):

Randomized Experiment ◽

Health Warnings ◽

Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽

Sweetened Beverage

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Missed Opportunities: The Need to Promote Public Knowledge and Awareness of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18094607 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (9) ◽

pp. 4607

Author(s):

Emily A. Altman ◽

Kristine A. Madsen ◽

Laura A. Schmidt

Keyword(s):

San Francisco ◽

Correct Recall ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Missed Opportunities ◽

Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽

Sweetened Beverage ◽

Before And After ◽

Education Levels ◽

Missed Opportunity

Despite a growing body of evidence showing that sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes nudge consumers away from SSBs, we lack an understanding of people’s awareness and perceptions of SSB taxes and whether tax awareness and perceptions differ based on sociodemographic characteristics. We used serial cross-sectional study intercept surveys (n = 2715) in demographically diverse neighborhoods of Berkeley and Oakland in 2015 and 2017, and San Francisco and Richmond in 2017. In the year following successful SSB tax ballot measures, 45% of respondents correctly recalled that an SSB tax had passed in their city. In untaxed cities, 14% of respondents incorrectly thought that a tax had passed. Perceived benefits of SSB taxes to the community and to children’s health were moderate and, like correct recall of an SSB tax, were higher among respondents with higher education levels. Awareness of SSB taxes was low overall, and perceptions about taxes’ benefits varied by educational attainment, reflecting a missed opportunity to educate citizens about how SSB taxes work and their importance. Public health efforts should invest in campaigns that explain the benefits of SSB taxes and provide information about how tax revenues will be invested, both before and after a tax proposal has passed.

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