OBJECTIVE Fiscal policies may form a solution in improving dietary intake. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of varying taxing and subsiding schemes to stimulate healthier food purchases. METHODS A randomized controlled trial with three levels of price reduction on healthy foods (no; 25%; 50%)×three levels of price increase on unhealthy foods (5%; 10%; 25%) factorial design was us...

BACKGROUND There is a need for accurate and precise food price elasticities (PE, change in consumer demand in response to change in price) to better inform policy on health-related food taxes and subsidies. METHODS/DESIGN The Price Experiment and Modelling (Price ExaM) study aims to: I) derive accurate and precise food PE values; II) quantify the impact of price changes on quantity and qualit...

Oliver T Mytton, academic clinical fellow, Dushy Clarke, researcher, Mike Rayner, director Author Affiliations 1British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK Correspondence to: O T Mytton [email protected] Accepted 2 April 2012 An increasing number of countries are introducing taxes on unhealthy food and ...

BACKGROUND Health-related food taxes and subsidies may promote healthier diets and reduce mortality. Our aim was to estimate the effects of health-related food taxes and subsidies on deaths prevented or postponed (DPP) in New Zealand. METHODS A macrosimulation model based on household expenditure data, demand elasticities and population impact fractions for 18 diet-related diseases was used t...

The recent review of taxation in Australia - the Henry tax review - has recommended that the federal government increase the taxes already levied on tobacco and alcohol. Tobacco and alcohol taxes are put forward as the best way of reducing the social harms caused by the use and misuse of these substances. Junk foods have the same pattern of misuse and the same social costs as tobacco and alcoho...

Globally, soda taxes are gaining momentum as powerful interventions to discourage sugar consumption and thereby reduce the growing burden of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Evidence from early adopters including Mexico and Berkeley, California, confirms that soda taxes can disincentivize consumption through price increases and raise revenue to support government programs. The Unit...

Junk food consumption is associated with rising obesity rates in the United States. While a "junk food" specific tax is a potential public health intervention, a majority of states already impose sales taxes on certain junk food and soft drinks. This study reviews the state sales tax variance for soft drinks and selected snack products sold through grocery stores and vending machines as of Janu...

BACKGROUND Sodas are widely sold in vending machines and other school venues in the United States, particularly in high school. Research suggests that policy changes have reduced soda access, but the impact of reduced access on consumption is unclear. This study was designed to identify student, environmental, or policy characteristics that modify the associations between school vending machine...