scholarly journals Implementation of the First US Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax in Berkeley, CA, 2015–2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (9) ◽  
pp. 1429-1437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Falbe ◽  
Anna H. Grummon ◽  
Nadia Rojas ◽  
Suzanne Ryan-Ibarra ◽  
Lynn D. Silver ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Advisory Commissions ◽  
Facilitators And Barriers

Objectives. To identify lessons learned from implementation of the nation’s first sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise tax in 2015 in Berkeley, California. Methods. We interviewed city stakeholders and SSB distributors and retailers (n = 48) from June 2015 to April 2017 and analyzed records through January 2019. Results. Lessons included the importance of thorough and timely communications with distributors and retailers, adequate lead time for implementation, advisory commissions for revenue allocations, and funding of staff, communications, and evaluation before tax collection begins. Early and robust outreach about the tax and programs funded can promote and sustain public support, reduce friction, and facilitate beverage price increases on SSBs only. No retailer reported raising food prices, indicating that Berkeley’s SSB tax did not function as a “grocery tax,” as industry claimed. Revenue allocations totaled more than $9 million for public health, nutrition, and health equity through 2021. Conclusions. The policy package, context, and implementation process facilitated translating policy into public health outcomes. Further research is needed to understand long-term facilitators and barriers to sustaining public health benefits of Berkeley’s tax and how those differ from facilitators and barriers in jurisdictions facing significant industry-funded repeal efforts.

scholarly journals A public health perspective on mental health: lessons for population health in the 21st century

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
James V. Lucey
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Royal College ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
The World ◽  
Shared Commitment

In December 2019, clinicians and academics from the disciplines of public health and psychiatry met in Dublin at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), to restate their shared commitment to population health. The purpose of this review is to bring our discussion to a wider audience. The meeting could not have been more timely. Six weeks later, the COVID-19 emergency emerged in China and within 12 months it had swept the world. This paper, the contents of which were presented at that meeting in December recommended that future healthcare would be guided more by public health perspectives and informed by an understanding of health economics, population health and the lessons learned by psychiatry in the 20th century. Ultimately two issues are at stake in 21st century healthcare: the sustainability of our healthcare systems and the maintenance of public support for population health. We must plan for the next generation of healthcare. We need to do this now since it is clear that COVID-19 marks the beginning of 21st century medicine.

scholarly journals Impact of the Berkeley Excise Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption

2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (10) ◽  
pp. 1865-1871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Falbe ◽  
Hannah R. Thompson ◽  
Christina M. Becker ◽  
Nadia Rojas ◽  
Charles E. McCulloch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Beverage Consumption ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Sweetened Beverage

Implementation Factors Related to Improving the Food Environment Within Health Care Institutions: A Multiple Case Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizaveta Walker ◽  
Robin L Baker ◽  
Kerth O'Brien ◽  
Lynne C Messer ◽  
Cara L Eckhardt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
System Level ◽  
Implementation Barriers ◽  
Executive Leaders ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Implementation Challenges ◽  
Health Care Institutions ◽  
Facilitators And Barriers

Abstract Background Healthy food environment policies (HFEPs), such as sugar-sweetened beverage bans or nutritional standards for vending machines, can improve the healthfulness of retail food venues, particularly within health care institutions that have a health-focused mission. The degree to which operational managers’ and executive leaders’ perceptions of implementation challenges align or diverge, and the extent to which these perceptions affect HFEP implementation, is unknown.Methods We conducted ten semi-structured key informant interviews with managers and executive leaders who participated in HFEP development within five health care organizations. Interviews explored facilitators and barriers for HFEP adoption and maintenance. We transcribed, coded, and analyzed interviews and derived contextual facilitators and barriers.Results We identified 27 facilitators and 30 barriers, which were refined into six and five categories, respectively, and ultimately paired to create three overarching recommendations. Operational managers’ and executive leaders’ perceptions overlapped 44-75% when identifying facilitators but only 33-58% when identifying implementation barriers. Interpersonal issues such as over-delegation and mistrust were prominent among those organizations whose respondents’ perceptions diverged substantially.Conclusion As the obesity epidemic continues to increase, understanding key facilitators and barriers to HFEPs, as well as the influence on leaderships’ perceptions on the implementation process, will be key to addressing obesogenic food environments. Though leaders were generally aligned in perspectives regarding facilitators, there was greater divergence when barriers were discussed. Executive leaders are encouraged to familiarize themselves with operational barriers and refrain from over-delegating these challenges to their operational counterparts, who lack the institutional authority to override organizational or system-level decisions.

The Sweetened Beverage Tax in Cook County, Illinois: Lessons From a Failed Effort

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 (7) ◽  
pp. 1009-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie F. Chriqui ◽  
Christina N. Sansone ◽  
Lisa M. Powell
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Discussion Group ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Cook County ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
The Media ◽  
Group Interviews

Objectives. To describe the public health and policy lessons learned from the failure of the Cook County, Illinois, Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT). Methods. This retrospective, mixed-methods, qualitative study involved key informant (KI) and discussion group interviews and document analysis including news media, court documents, testimony, letters, and press releases. Two coders used Atlas.ti v.8A to analyze 321 documents (from September 2016 through December 2017) and 6 KI and discussion group transcripts (from December 2017 through August 2018). Results. Key lessons were (1) the SBT process needed to be treated as a political campaign, (2) there was inconsistent messaging regarding the tax purpose (i.e., revenue vs public health), (3) it was important to understand the local context and constraints, (4) there was implementation confusion, and (5) the media influenced an antitax backlash. Conclusions. The experience with the implementation and repeal of the Cook County SBT provides important lessons for future beverage tax efforts. Public Health Implications. Beverage taxation efforts need to be treated as political campaigns requiring strong coalitions, clear messaging, substantial resources, and work within the local context.

scholarly journals Impact of an excise tax on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in Catalonia, Spain

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
MA Royo Bordonada ◽  
C Fernández Escobar ◽  
L Simón ◽  
B Sanz Barbero ◽  
J Padilla
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverages ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Beverage Consumption ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Sweetened Beverages ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is contributing to the obesity epidemic. On 28 March 2017, Catalonia enacted a law levying an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages for public health reasons. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the tax on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in Catalonia (Spain). Methods Before-and-after study to assess changes in the prevalence of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among 1929 persons aged 12 to 40 years residing in low-income neighbourhoods of Barcelona (intervention) and Madrid (control). Beverage consumption frequency was ascertained via a validated questionnaire administered during the month prior to the tax’s introduction (May 2017) and again at one year after it had come into force. The effect of the tax was obtained using Poisson regression models with robust variance. Results While the prevalence of regular consumers of taxed beverages fell by 41% in Barcelona as compared to Madrid, the prevalence of consumers of untaxed beverages remained stable. The main reason cited by more than two-thirds of those surveyed for reducing their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was the increase in price, followed by a heightened awareness of their health effects. Conclusions The introduction of the Catalonian excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages was followed by a reduction in the prevalence of regular consumers of taxed beverages. Key messages This is the first study to show the efficacy of the Catalonian excise tax to reduce the prevalence of regular consumers of sugar sweetened beverages by residents of low-income neighbourhoods in Spain. Our results, along with the remaining scientific evidence on the subject, would justify the extension of the measure to the rest of Spain for public health reasons.

scholarly journals Health Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Financing Fruit and Vegetable Subsidies with a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax in the US: A Micro-Simulation Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 1721-1721
Author(s):  
Matti Marklund ◽  
Yujin Lee ◽  
Junxiu Liu ◽  
Stephen Sy ◽  
Shafika Abrahams-Gessel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Us

Abstract Objectives Financial incentives and disincentives are effective tools for improving food purchases and health. Healthy food subsidies have only been considered for vulnerable populations and can be costly, while sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes can be considered financially regressive and punitive. The potential joint health and economic impacts of combining these approaches at a national scale have not been evaluated. Methods A validated microsimulation model, CVD PREDICT, was used to estimate reductions in CVD events, diabetes cases, gains in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), costs, and cost-effectiveness of a national U.S. fruit and vegetable subsidy fully or partly financed by SSB excise tax revenue ($0.01/tsp of added sugar). For the fully financed subsidy, cost could not exceed net tax revenue; while for the partly financed subsidy, costs were greater and ensured that taxes paid did not exceed subsidies received in either low or high income subgroups. Model inputs included national demographic and dietary data from NHANES 2009–2014; policy effects on consumer intakes, industry responses, and diet-disease effects from meta-analyses; and policy costs (tax and subsidy implementation, subsidy costs, industry reformulation), and health-related costs (formal/informal healthcare costs, productivity costs) from published sources. Findings were evaluated over 10 years and lifetime, with costs (in constant 2019 USD) and QALYs discounted at 3% annually. Results Both the fully and partly financed joint intervention was estimated to be cost-saving, compared to a base-case scenario accounting for gradual voluntary SSB industry reformulation. At 10 years, the fully financed intervention would prevent approximately 1.11M CVD events, 0.14M CVD deaths, and 0.34M diabetes cases, gain 0.87M QALYs, generate 1.49B net revenue, and save $56B in formal healthcare costs. Corresponding values for the partially financed intervention were 1.42M, 0.17M, 0.34M, 1.18M, −13.9B, and $65B. Estimated benefits and cost-savings were approximately 4–15 fold higher over a lifetime. Conclusions A joint national strategy combining revenue from an SSB excise tax to fully or partially finance fruit and vegetable subsidies could generate substantial health gains and cost-savings for the US, while minimizing government spending. Funding Sources NIH, NHLBI.

scholarly journals Impacts of a sugar sweetened beverage tax on body mass index and obesity in Thailand: A modelling study

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250841
Author(s):  
Payao Phonsuk ◽  
Vuthiphan Vongmongkol ◽  
Suladda Ponguttha ◽  
Rapeepong Suphanchaimat ◽  
Nipa Rojroongwasinkul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Energy Intake ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Price Elasticity ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Excise Tax ◽  
Sweetened Beverage

BackgroundThe World Health Organization (WHO) recommends sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes to address obesity. Thailand has just launched the new tax rates for SSB in 2017; however, the existing tax rate is not as high as the 20% recommended by the WHO. The objective for this study was to estimate the impacts of an SSB tax on body mass index (BMI) and obesity prevalence in Thailand under three different scenarios based on existing SSB and recommended tax rates.MethodsA base model was built to estimate the impacts of an SSB tax on SSB consumption, energy intake, BMI, and obesity prevalence. Literature review was conducted to estimate pass on rate, price elasticity, energy compensation, and energy balance to weight change. Different tax rates (11%, 20% and 25%) were used in the model. The model assumed no substitution effects, model values were based on international data since there was no empirical Thai data available. Differential effects by income groups were not estimated.FindingsWhen applying 11%, 20%, and 25% tax rates together with 100% pass on rate and an -1.30 own-price elasticity, the SSB consumption decreased by 14%, 26%, and 32%, respectively. The 20% and 25% price increase in SSB price tended to reduce higher energy intake, weight status and BMI, when compared with an 11% increase in existing price increase of SSB. The percentage changes of obesity prevalence of 11%, 20% and 25% SSB tax rates were estimated to be 1.73%, 3.83%, and 4.91%, respectively.ConclusionsA higher SSB tax (20% and 25%) was estimated to reduce consumption and consequently decrease obesity prevalence. Since Thailand has already endorsed the excise tax structure, the new excise tax structure for SSB should be scaled up to a 20% or 25% tax rate if the SSB consumption change does not meet a favourable goal.

scholarly journals Lessons Learned From the Creating Active Communities and Healthy Environments Toolkit Pilot: A Qualitative Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 117863021986223
Author(s):  
Marissa M Shams-White ◽  
Alison Cuccia ◽  
Fernando Ona ◽  
Steven Bullock ◽  
Kenneth Chui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Military Installations ◽  
Active Communities

The US Army Public Health Center developed the Creating Active Communities and Healthy Environments (CACHE) Toolkit to help military installations evaluate the quality of their built environments relative to healthy eating, physical activity, and tobacco-free living. This study sought to improve its implementation process and assess subsequent Action Plan Guides’ utility at 5 military installations. Baseline data included a knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs survey (N = 34); post-Toolkit implementation data included focus groups (N = 2) and interviews (N = 10). Although >80% of participants agreed the built environment affects healthy living, only 44%, 53%, and 35% agreed their installations’ built environments promoted healthy eating, physical activity, and tobacco-free living, respectively. Emerging themes comprised “Opportunities to Improve Toolkit and Action Plan Guide Functionality,” the “Sociopolitical Landscape Affects Toolkit Implementation,” and the “Sociopolitical and Physical Landscapes Affect the Toolkit’s Value and Utility.” This study provides concrete lessons for the CACHE Toolkit and other public health-based military initiatives.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document