Publications How do taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages affect health and health care costs?

Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) can lead fewer people to buy this type of drink, but the magnitude of such taxes needs to be large to have a meaningful impact on consumption. Among children and adolescents, drinking SSBs is generally associated with negative health outcomes such as weight gain or increased likelihood of obesity; however, some recent studies found no impact. One important consideration is that the majority of studies finding no impact were funded by the beverage industry or do not report their funding source. No evidence directly links taxes on SSBs to reductions in health care costs, though simulations using assumptions about changes in dietary choices, chronic disease, and health care utilization show that taxes on SSBs could lead to reductions in overall health care costs. See the review.