Comparing taxes as a percentage of sugar-sweetened beverage prices in Latin America and the Caribbean.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Excise taxes can be used to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), an important preventable risk factor for noncommunicable diseases. This study aimed to compare novel standardized indicators of the level of taxes applied on SSBs as a percentage of the price across beverage categories in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Methods

We used a method developed by the Pan American Health Organization and adapted from the World Health Organization's tobacco tax share. The analysis focused on the most sold brand of five categories of non-alcoholic beverages. Data were collected by surveying ministries of finance and reviewing tax legislation in effect as of March 2019.

Findings

Of the 27 countries analyzed, 17 applied excise taxes on SSBs. Of th

SUBMITTER: Roche M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9290324 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature