Higher Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Retail Prices After Excise Taxes in Oakland and San Francisco

Am J Public Health. 2020 Jul;110(7):1017-1023. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305602. Epub 2020 May 21.

Abstract

Objectives. To examine how much sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) excise taxes increased SSB retail prices in Oakland and San Francisco, California.Methods. We collected pretax (April-May 2017) and posttax (April-May 2018) retail prices of SSBs and non-SSBs from 155 stores in Oakland, San Francisco, and comparison cities. We analyzed data using difference-in-differences high-dimensional fixed-effects regressions, weighted by regional beverage sales.Results. Across all beverage sizes, the weighted average price of SSBs increased by 0.92 cents per ounce (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.28, 1.56) in Oakland and 1.00 cents per ounce (95% CI = 0.35, 1.65) in San Francisco, compared with prices in untaxed cities. The tax did not significantly alter prices of water, 100% juice, or milk of any size examined. Diet soda only, among non-SSBs, exhibited a higher price increase for some sizes in taxed cities.Conclusions. Within 4 to 10 months of implementation, Oakland's and San Francisco's SSB excise taxes significantly increased SSB retail prices by approximately the amount of the taxes, a key mechanism for reducing consumption.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Beverages / economics
  • California
  • Commerce / economics*
  • San Francisco
  • Sugar-Sweetened Beverages / economics*
  • Sugar-Sweetened Beverages / legislation & jurisprudence
  • Taxes / economics*