Study: Higher Prices Deter Soda Consumption

6/27/2010

Health experts and public officials have long been divided on the merits of passing new taxes aimed at discouraging heavy consumption of soda and other highly sweetened foods. Now, a recent study suggests that higher prices may be effective in reducing their consumption.

The study is featured in the American Journal of Public Health and focused on an initiative that measured soft drink sales at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital based on their price.

According to researchers from Harvard Medical School, sales of regular soft drinks saw a 26 percent decline during the period when prices were elevated by 35 percent, while more conventional health education efforts were said to have no effect on sales until they were combined with the higher prices.

"A price increase may be an effective policy mechanism to decrease sales of regular soda," concluded the research team.

Soft drink and snack taxes are not particularly popular, but lawmakers may find themselves forced to get more creative as the nation's unhealthy habits continue to take their toll in the form of higher health insurance premiums and greater burdens for medical institutions.

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